Who is Usha Vance? Indian-American wife of Trump’s running mate evokes pride in India

Chilukuri Vance, a 38-year-old corporate lawyer who used to be a registered Democrat, is the daughter of Indian immigrants and a practising Hindu. Soon after Trump announced Vance as his running mate, Chilukuri Vance resigned from her San Francisco-based law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson to “focus on caring for our family”, according to a report by PEOPLE.

Analysts do not expect Chilukuri Vance to play any direct role in supporting her husband’s election campaign.

“If Trump wins, we will have a US vice-president whose wife is of Indian origin. Since yesterday, there have been talks about Biden’s health, and if he were to bow out, [Vice-President] Kamala Harris could well be the nominee,” said Vivek Mishra, fellow Americas at the Observer Research Foundation. Harris’ mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was a Tamil Indian biologist who furthered her studies in the US.

Chilukuri Vance’s Indian roots are viewed with pride in her ancestral home as an endorsement of the growing prominence of Indian Americans in the US. Among them are former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley and American Congressman Ro Khanna – their parents were US immigrants formerly from Punjab, India.

“We are seeing quite a number of promising candidates who can be at the top echelons of US politics,” Mishra said. Trump’s choice of Vance was likely due to his ability to attract voters in swing states like Ohio than his Indian connection, he added.

The US House of Representatives had a single Indian American member in 2013 and the number rose to at least 50 Indian-origin representatives as of 2023, according to a report by The New York Times.

India’s leading English dailies published feature articles this week on Chilukuri Vance and her family, highlighting their illustrious academic background and other achievements.

Chilukuri Vance has a bachelor’s degree in History from Yale University and a Master of Philosophy degree from the University of Cambridge. She first met Vance at Yale Law School and they married in 2014, according to The New York Times. The couple has three children.

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Over 37,000 Indian women perform traditional Maha Raas dance in Gujarat state

Over 37,000 Indian women perform traditional Maha Raas dance in Gujarat state

Her parents, Chilukuri Radhakrishna and Lakshmi, moved to the US in 1980.

The family was originally from Vadduru, a village in Andhra Pradesh state. They moved to Chennai when Chilukuri Vance’s paternal grandfather, Ramasastry Chilukuri, went to teach physics at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in 1959.

Gautam Mahajan, a former president of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, who studied at IIT under Ramasastry, recalled that he was a “very impressive man” with extensive professional knowledge.

Mahajan, who lived in the US for two decades before he returned to India in 1987, said the US has changed significantly since he lived there. Back then, an Indian-origin person would be reluctant to help others in business due to concerns over any perceptions of cronyism, he said.

“Now all that has changed. No one thinks that any Indian being promoted by another [in the corporate world] is because of cronyism. But that attitude still prevails in the political world,” he said.

Robert B. Lancia, a former Rhode Island State legislator who has worked closely with the Indian community, said there was a feeling of pride in Chilukuri Vance among the Indian American community.

“It is the same kind of pride that they have for Indian CEOs of American companies … We get the sense she [Chilukuri Vance] is a very strong personality and a mover and shaker in her own right,” Lancia told This Week in Asia.

Kingshuk Nag, an Indian author, said that he expected later generations of Indian Americans to grow in prominence with better education and more high-profile professional achievements.

“Racial divides are lessening and as their [Indian American] population increases, they will become more prominent,” he said.

Harsh Ramaswamy, an independent political commentator, said there was a link between the wealth and success of Indian Americans and their growing profile in the political arena.

“Their elite positioning in social life promotes their interest in politics. I’m not surprised,” he said.