More than 90,000 South Asian women got on a Zoom call on July 24 to try and raise money for Vice President Kamala Harris’ bid for President.
The event, which was called the “South Asian Women for Harris”, raised a whopping $250,000 for the campaign with just one phone call.
Indian women in the United States came together in solidarity to support Harris. Indian women the world over are often fondly called ‘aunties’, a popular term used to describe any woman who is somewhere in middle age right up to elderly women.
The Indian American community make up just over 1% of the US population.
The women were from various backgrounds and the call was organized by Palak Sheth, founder of the Post March Salon (PMS), lawyer Mansi H.Shah, former president of the South Asian Bar Association (SABA); and civil rights lawyer Arumina Bhargava, with the assistance of Harini Krishnan and Neha Dewan, who are co-national directors of South Asians for Harris.
Krishnan said in an interview with American Kahani magazine, “Most of the political organizing in the South Asian American communities is led by women, young women.”
Krishnan has been with Harris as a volunteer, friend and organizer for a number of years and spoke of her as someone who is a champion of marginalized communities and who has increased her standing on the global stage at a time when our fundamental rights are on assault. “She is bringing all of us together,” she said.
“The Harris campaign has been seeing levels of engagement even more than Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign,” she added.
The call was also joined by Hollywood celebrities of Indian descent such as Mindy Kaling and Poorna Jagannathan.
Kaling pledged her support to the campaign saying she would work hard, quickly and effectively. Jagannathan said she hoped Haris would come up with a permanent solution for the conflict in Gaza.
Rep Pramila Jayapal (Democrat-Washington) said her mother is so excited about Harris running that she keeps on sending WhatsApp messages about her candidacy. Jayapal,who recently got re-elected to Congress herself, said, ”It’s an incredible thing to think about where we are today. It’s such a great moment for the community.”