“Happy Indian Independence Day! Reflecting on the past 74 years, it’s remarkable how much progress our people have made in the fight for justice. I hope you’ll join me in celebrating and then commit to building an even better future,” Harris tweeted.

Harris’ mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was born in Chennai before she moved to the US to pursue a doctoral degree at University of California Berkeley. Shyamala was the daughter of PV Gopalan, who was active in the Independence movement and then became a high-ranking civil servant and fought against corruption. Shyamala was a cancer researcher.