Elizabeth Warren Is Fighting For All Americans, Says Her Son-In-law From Uttar Pradesh Village

Two of the Democratic contenders in the 2020 US presidential elections have strong ties with India: while Senator Kamala Harris from California had an Indian mother, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren’s daughter, Amelia, is married to Indian American entrepreneur Sushil Tyagi. Along with former vice president Joe Biden, Warren leads the list of Democratic hopefuls.

- LAVINA MELWANI

Tyagi was born in Khatauli village that is on a rural path off the main road that goes between Deoband and Saharanpur. He never had a settled childhood as his father, who was a policeman, was transferred frequently. But Tyagi was a bright student and he went on to study civil engineering at IIT Delhi. He completed his studies at the University of California, Berkeley and the Wharton School in Philadelphia. He now serves as president of Berkeley Marine Robotics, an ocean exploration and conservation company. He has also dabbled in film production and was involved with movies such as Hari Om (2004) and Samsara (2011).

In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Tyagi opens up for the first time about Warren, calling her a fighter who knows exactly what families go through every day in America. He hopes to assist his mother-in-law in overturning the Trumpian model of American political life. Indian Americans are getting involved in the Warren campaign through the recently-launched Warren India Network (WIN) whose lead supporter is California lawyer Navneet Chugh. Excerpts:

Q/ Can you tell us about your early life?

A/ I am originally from a north UP village, which is so small and unknown that it still does not have a post office or a bus service. Like most children of smallholder farmers, I grew up taking the cattle to the ponds and sugarcane carts to the crushers. My mother never went to school and could not read or write.

Since there was very little farmland, my father joined the UP Police as a constable. He was initially posted in such remote places where there were no schools or where he could not afford to keep a family. So I was sent to our relatives’ villages to continue at local schools.