Mindy Kaling celebrates Kamala Harris' Indian heritage at DNC: Immigrant mom, dosas & Sanskrit name

Actress Mindy Kaling humorously discussed her connection with Vice President Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Convention, highlighting their shared Indian heritage.

In her speech, Kaling quipped, "I am an incredibly famous Gen Z actress who you might recognize from The Office, The Mindy Project, or as the woman who courageously outed Kamala Harris as Indian in an Instagram cooking video."

Kaling reminisced about meeting Harris years ago during a cooking demo when Harris was a U.S. senator from California."We immediately hit it off. We talked about the love that we have for our moms, who had both passed away from cancer," Kaling shared. "Both of our mothers were immigrants from India who came to America and committed their lives to serving others."

Kaling’s mother was an OB-GYN, while Harris’s mother was a cancer research scientist. Kaling felt that Harris’s mother instilled a similar commitment to service in her daughter. "But the thing I remember the most about the vice president," Kaling added, "is that Kamala Harris can cook. Guys, she was so much better than me. But she also knew that my family was watching, so as she gently corrected my sloppy dosa making, she was complimenting me every step of the way."

Kaling’s comments come in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s racially charged remarks about Harris, who has faced criticism over her identity as a Black and South Asian woman. Trump has made derogatory comments about Harris's race and mispronounced her name, Kamala, which means "lotus flower" in Sanskrit.