P. V. Gopalan

P. V. Gopalan (1911 – February 1998)[1] was an Indian career civil servant who served as Director of Relief Measures and Refugees in the Government of Zambia, especially the exodus of Refugees from Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).[2][3] He served as Joint Secretary to Government of India in 1960s. He was a member of Imperial Secretariat Service and later Central Secretariat Service officer.[4][5][6]

P. V. Gopalan
Personal details
Born1911 (1911)
Mannargudi, Tanjore District, Madras Presidency, British India
Died1998 (aged 86–87)
NationalityIndian
Children4 (including Shyamala Gopalan)
RelativesKamala Harris (granddaughter)
Maya Harris (granddaughter)

Early life

Gopalan was born into a Tamil Brahmin caste family in 1911 in Painganadu, a village in the erstwhile Tanjore District, Madras Presidency, in British India.[7]

Career

Gopalan joined the Imperial Secretariat Service during British rule in India and later merged into Central Secretariat Service.[4] He served as Under Secretary to Government of India in the Ministry of Transport (Roads Wing).[4] In the 1950s, he was posted as a senior commercial officer in Bombay.[7]

Rising through the ranks, Gopalan was later empanelled as Joint Secretary to Government of India in the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Rehabilitation.[8] He was later deputed to the Government of Zambia as Director of Relief Measures and Refugees,[8] to help Zambia manage an influx of refugees from Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).

Personal life

P. V. Gopalan was married to Rajam Gopalan. They had four children, including Shyamala Gopalan, who earned a PhD in nutrition and endocrinology from the University of California, Berkeley. Gopalan is the grandfather of Maya Harris and Kamala Harris.. The latter is the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee for Vice President in the 2020 US presidential election.

Further reading
  • Kamala Harris. The Truths We Hold: An American Journey (Publisher: Random House; ISBN 978-1473567863)
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References
  1. Bengali, Shashank; Mason, Melanie (25 October 2019). "The progressive Indian grandfather who inspired Kamala Harris". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  2. "How Kamala Harris's 'Family of Fighters' Influenced Her Campaign Message". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  3. "Kamala Harris says inspired by her super hero Indian-American mother". The Economic Times. PTI. 11 January 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  4. "Gazette of India, 1956, No. 34 (Archived)". Government of India. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  5. "'Losing out': Indian Americans say Kamala Harris needs to do more to win them over". Washington Examiner. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  6. "The New Face of Politics…An Interview with Kamala Harris". Archived from the original on 11 December 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  7. "The progressive Indian grandfather who inspired Kamala Harris". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  8. "Gazette of India, 1966, No. 423 (Archived)". Government of India. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
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