P. V. Gopalan | |
|---|---|
 P. V. Gopalan with his granddaughter,Kamala Harris,c. 1960s. | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Painganadu Venkataraman Gopalan 1911 (1911) |
| Died | February 1998 (aged 86–87) Chennai,Tamil Nadu, India |
| Spouse | Rajam Gopalan |
| Children | 4, includingShyamala |
| Relatives | Kamala Harris (granddaughter) Maya Harris (granddaughter) Meena Harris (great-granddaughter) |
| Known for | Maternal grandfather ofKamala Harris |
Painganadu Venkataraman Gopalan (1911 – February 1998)[1] was an Indiancareer civil servant[2] who served with theZambian and theIndian governments.
As director of relief measures and refugees inZambia, he oversaw the exodus of refugees fromSouthern Rhodesia (nowZimbabwe) during theRhodesian Bush War.[3][4] He later served as advisor to the firstPresident of ZambiaKenneth Kaunda[5] and also asjoint secretary to the government of India in 1960s.
Gopalan was a member of theImperial Secretariat Service and later aCentral Secretariat Service officer.[6][7][8] He was the maternal grandfather of the 49thvice president of the United States,Kamala Harris.[1][9]
Gopalan was born in 1911 into a conservativeTamil Brahmin family, at Painganadu agraharam,Thulasendrapuram in theMadras Presidency,British India.[1]
Gopalan joined[when?] theImperial Secretariat Service during British rule in India which later merged into theCentral Secretariat Service.[10][6] He served as under secretary to the government of India in theMinistry of Transport (Roads Wing).[6] In the 1950s, he was posted as a senior commercial officer inMumbai.[1] He worked on the rehabilitation of refugees fromEast Pakistan in India.[5] Rising through the ranks, Gopalan was later empanelled and served as joint secretary to the government of India in theMinistry of Labour, Employment and Rehabilitation.[11]
With effect from 28 January 1966, he was deputed to the government of Zambia and lived inLusaka as Director of Relief Measures and Refugees in 1966 during theZimbabwean War of Independence,[11] to help Zambia manage an influx of refugees from Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). While in Lusaka in the 1960s, as recorded in a public lands document dated March 9, 1967, Gopalan and his family resided at 16 Independence Avenue.[12] He was appointed to the selection grade of the Central Secretariat Service from 1 May 1966,[13] and ended his posting in Zambia with effect from 24 July 1969, reverting to his former role in the Department of Rehabilitation.[14] He retired from government service with effect from 2 October 1969.[15]
P. V. Gopalan was married to Rajam Gopalan, who was betrothed to him at age twelve and began living with him at sixteen.[16] Rajam never attended high school.[16]
They lived inKarol Bagh[17] atCentral Delhi district and also at other areas inNew Delhi.[17] The couple had four children: the oldest, a daughter,Shyamala, who earned a PhD inendocrinology at theUniversity of California, Berkeley, and went on to have an academic and research career in the US and Canada; a son, Balachandran, who received a PhD in economics and computer science from theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison and returned to an academic career in India; a daughter, Sarala, an obstetrician who practised in Chennai; and the youngest, another daughter, Mahalakshmi, an information scientist, who worked for theGovernment of Ontario, Canada.[1] Gopalan was the grandfather of lawyerMaya Harris, former Vice PresidentKamala Harris, and academicSharada Balachandran Orihuela.[1][9] Shyamala and her daughters used to visit Gopalan once every two to three years to visit her family and went for walks onEdward Elliot's Beach in Besant Nagar.[18][19]
Kamala Harris has said that she was strongly influenced by his progressive political views on democracy and women's rights, especially their right to education.[20] He later bought an apartment inBesant Nagar and lived in Chennai until his death.[21]
No, A-5(16)/55.—The services of Shri P. V. Gopalan, permanent Grade I officer of the Central Secretariat Service and employed as Under Secretary in the Ministry of Transport (Roads Wing), were placed at the disposal of the Ministry of Rehabilitation with effect from the 31st December, 1955 (A.N.)
| Order of precedence | ||
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| Unknown | Order of Precedence of India as Joint Secretary to Government of India 1960's | Unknown |
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