Biden picks Kamala Harris to be Democratic vice president nominee

New York, Aug 12 Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden has selected Kamala Devi Harris as the nominee for vice president in a historic move that marks a breakthrough for Indian American in US politics.

"I have the great honour to announce that I've picked @KamalaHarris - a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country's finest public servants - as my running mate," Biden tweeted Tuesday afternoon, ending weeks of speculation.

Harris, the daughter of Shyamala Gopalan, a cancer researcher from India and Donald Harris, an African Jamaican economics professor, is the first non-White candidate for vice president and the third.

A senator, Harris has a history as a prosecutor, having been the attorney general of California.

Despite her mixed parentage, Harris is presented as an African American meeting the current national sentiment driven by the movement against discrimination against African Americans.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@.in and followed on Twitter at @arulouis)

( With inputs from IANS )