Why is Chidanand Rajghatta’s Book Kamala Harris: Phenomenal Woman a Must Read?

Kamala Devi Harris or simply Kamala Harris was a name that rang in almost every household in India right from the moment the elections were announced in the United States. Forget that she won, even before that the Indian subcontinent saw a magnitude of social media mentions involving her Indian Origin.

The journey to becoming the Vice President of one of the Supreme powers in the World being an immigrant is not an easy feat. The struggles, the path that held challenges all shaped her personality as a daughter of recent immigrants and becoming a woman of higher authority in the United States.

Donning multiple hats, taking care of the family and being a rigid Vice President Kamala Harris manages the role quite remarkably. Her path to winning the election was not an easy one especially with her coming from a non-traditional background.
The phenomenal woman that she is, her story is truly inspirational to all women out there letting them know that they can be bold, fearless and ambitious.

In her own words as she says,

‘We not only dream, we do. We not only see what has been, we see what can be. We shoot for the moon … We are bold, fearless, and ambitious. We are undaunted in our belief that we shall overcome; that we will rise up.’

This was part of her inauguration night address. These are not just words from speech but a positive affirmation that every woman can not only dream but can also do wonders. We will rise up should be the daily mantra that would work and make miracles in every life.

The biography describes her struggles on her path to success, the challenges she faced to see her rise on a Land that was not her native. The book Kamala Harris: Phenomenal Woman describes her Indian and Jamaican connect, but a deeper introspection in her Indian relativity. Being a woman of colour her ascent to occupy one of the highest positions has been explained with attention to all details involving her expedition to become a superwoman.

Why is this book by Chidanand Rajghatta a must read?

Lessons to learn from her Biography

• Kamala’s single-minded focus and determination is a lesson to all women that they can be independent when it comes to carving their career path. Kamala not only secured admission to UC Berkley but was also capable of taking care of her studying expenses.

• Her unshakeable confidence and zeal were proven when she owned the stage upon her winning the elections. Her speech wherein she mentioned that Women sacrificed so much for equality, liberty and justice when they are overlooked but in fact, they are the backbone of the democracy.

• The United States had a surrogate to the President which was not seen in all these years. Joe Biden chose to make her an equal powerhouse with authority and importance by his own design and his consent. His confidence in her depicted her importance to him. It isn’t easy to achieve that. And for the First time the TIMES magazine which published the person of the year as only the President, in 2020 published the picture of the Vice president alongside the President. Such a prestigious moment to celebrate.

• The White house communications can now never be seen without Kamala’s name or comments in each dispatch depicting her influence which is seen significantly.

• Breaking what has long been a male preserve, Kamala went first and followed up with remarks at the Pentagon during Biden’s first foreign policy speech.

• Kamala is clearly seen wading into foreign policy deeply with Biden’s guidance and can be evident to the world when she spoke with the Canadian and the French Presidents in her first outreach with foreign leaders. This was considered as an exclusive domain of the President until Kamala changed that she could do it too.

• Leadership came to her as easily, and once she said, ‘Lawyers have a profound ability and responsibility to be a voice for the vulnerable and the voiceless.’” Which was the reason she chose to pursue a legal career.

• Her decision to become the prosecutor rather than the defender raised many eyebrows including that of her mother’s. It became a much sterner test than passing her bar exam for her to convince the family and friends that her decision was wise.

• ‘I knew quite well that equal justice was an aspiration, I knew that the force of the law was applied unevenly, sometimes by design. But I also knew that what was wrong with the system didn’t need to be an immutable fact. And I wanted to be part of changing that,’ she writes. ‘When activists came marching and banging on the doors, I wanted to be on the other side to let them in.’ Her reading about brave prosecutors opened her eyes to possibilities of working from the inside. She gained a lot of courage to fight from within and help people too.

The book quotes a lot of life instances that can serve to be a sense of inspiration that to make a change one always does not need to be on the opponent’s end but could also fight from within. One needn’t be quiet just because it is a male preserve but can serve to be the change and show that women aren’t incapable.