The Indian diaspora in the United States of America has reasons to rejoice less than two years before the presidential elections. Kamala Harris, the Democrat Senator from California, mildly Leftist, and more accurately of Indian descent, has thrown her hat into the ring, having signalled her intent to run for President in 2020. It is more than a mere coincidence that she has made the announcement on Martin Luther King’s birthday, an occasion that is celebrated throughout America. Yet the diasporic euphoria might be a mite premature not the least because there are no fewer than ten Democratic contenders in the fray for nominations. As the second black woman to serve in the Senate, Ms. Harris joins a diverse and increasingly crowded field of Democrats vying for the nomination. However, the eventual prospect ought not to militate from the fact that the “breaking news” represents a proud moment for the Indian- American, whose number is legion and increasingly so despite the immigration policy and/or visa restrictions of Donald Trump. No less critical is the colour of her skin in a country that has become mortally racist over the past several years when the black has been the victim of the white man’s ire. Ms Harris has been remarkably swift in according the people, cutting across the black-and-white divide, their due in the fountain-head of libertarian democracy ~ “The core of my campaign is the people,” she is reported to have told a celebratory gathering at Howard University, the historically black college that she attended in the 1980s. “Nobody is living their life through the lens of one issue. And I think what people want is leadership that sees them through the complexity of their lives and pays equal attention to their needs. Let’s not put people in a box.” On closer reflection, “leadership” has been a scarce commodity in the United States during the past two years. Her message is bathed in symbolism, and it is pretty obvious that the fineprint is addressed to the present occupant of the White House. Ms Harris, a 54-year-old former California attorney-general, is in a position to bridge generations of the party, both in terms of her age, experience and positions. A product of what she once described as San Francisco’s “hardknocks politics,” Ms. Harris has also tried to align herself with Democrats’ leftward drift. Ranked as a “progressive prosecutor”, she has been referred to as a “voice for the voiceless and vulnerable”. Well might she present her law enforcement background as a foil to a “lawless” presidency. Yet the support of the Indian-Americans cannot perhaps be taken for granted, if reactions from Silicon Valley are any indication ~ “We already have a Hindu- American, Tulsi Gabbard, running for President.”