As a Utah resident of Indian descent, I was intrigued by the discussion of Kamala Harris’ Indian (and Hindu) roots in Peggy Fletcher Stack’s article. I was however a little disappointed to see the comment by Uma Khandkar that she’s never “seen [Harris] wear Hindu clothing like a sari” go unremarked upon.
Firstly, it may be true that Ms. Khandkar has never seen her wear a sari, but there’s a very well known picture of Vice President Harris in a sari from her younger days.
What worries me more though is the description of a sari as “Hindu clothing” and something that one must wear to certify one’s Hindu identity. It is certainly Indian clothing, but to call it Hindu clothing is odd, especially since a) many Hindus in the north of India will commonly wear other outfits, and b) many non-Hindus all across the country (especially in the south) will wear saris.
I also hope we can remember that presidential candidates — and presidents — will represent us all. I haven’t seen any discussion of how German-Americans or non-denominational Christian-Americans feel about Donald Trump as a nominee, so I’d hope we would also do Kamala Harris the same courtesy of focusing on her policies and beliefs, rather than on her identity.
Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Holladay