“I saw Kamala in Oakland shortly after she was born. I was friends with her parents. She was spirited even then,” jokes Indian Nobel laureate Amartya Sen from the balcony of his room overlooking the sea at a historic hotel in Sabaudia, Italy, where he has spent his summer vacations for sixty years. 

“I was privileged to be one of Don Harris’s PhD supervisors along with Daniel McFadden at the University of California, Berkeley. As a young researcher, he was quite brilliant—very independent-minded—I much enjoyed working with him.”

“During that time, the campus was in the grips of civil rights protests, which served as the backdrop to Don and Shyamala’s union. They were a close-knit couple when Kamala was a child and, until they separated, they brought her up harmoniously together.”

“Kamala grew up mostly with her mother Shyamala, a tough Indian woman who, while still very young, managed to move to America to pursue her dream of becoming a cancer scientist. I remember her as a very determined woman, capable of pursuing what she wanted with dedication—qualities she passed on to Kamala. Shyamala was very willing to encourage Kamala’s Black identity (without forgetting her part-Indian heritage). Shyamala was a moderate progressive, a trait her daughter would later adopt, while Don, a development economist from Jamaica, is much more left-leaning.”

Do you believe Harris will manage to beat Trump?

“Yes, she can do it. Trump has based his entire campaign on attacking Biden’s weaknesses, and now he’s up against a candidate who is more energetic than he is. Trump calls her a ‘radical communist,’ but she’s actually a moderate progressive. That is her politics.

Regardless of whether Kamala or Trump (with his vice president Vance, who is married to Indian-American Usha) wins, there will be a connection to your country in the White House. Will this impact US-India relations?

“I don’t know Usha but I have heard good things about her. I do know that Vance has faced criticism from American right-wing circles for marrying the daughter of Indian immigrants. However, what’s important is not just the ancestral connection to India, but having friends who understand the country well and don’t just accept the idealized image promoted by the Indian government. Americans, more so than the British, are traditionally less informed about India.”

“Kamala, on the other hand, is well-informed due to her connections with friends and colleagues of Indian origin, such as Pramila Jayapal, who is a U.S. Representative from Washington and the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and Ro Khanna, who is a U.S. Representative from California.” (also the author of Dignity in a Digital Age, a book against digital segregation, for which Sen wrote the preface).

Many Indian Americans are progressive in the US but hold conservative views in India, where they support Prime Minister Modi and see him as the driving force in the country.

“Most of the Indian American diaspora don’t know how sectarian, anti-Muslim, and pro-rich the Modi government is. The Prime Minister insists that the Indian economy is growing, but unemployment is continuously rising: there are too many young people who are poorly educated and have little access to healthcare.”

Before coming to Italy, you spent three weeks traveling around India. What has changed after the elections?

“The government is learning its lesson that it can’t act with impunity. Modi is now weaker and is giving more funds to allies in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar to secure their support, but this has led to discontent in other states.”

But let’s return to the US. Was it the right move for Biden to step down?

“He did the right thing by stepping down, considering his loss of clarity during a crucially important debate.”

There has been much discussion about old age and leadership recently. Does old age compromise a leader’s abilities?

“I don’t think age alone should be a reason for stepping down; some political leaders stay sharp well into old age. In Italy, for example, Luigi Einaudi served as head of state until he was 81, and Sergio Mattarella, at 83, shows no signs of slowing down.”  

“Besides, Biden was never an assertive man—remember how, during the Anita Hill case, he gave in to Clarence Thomas while chairing his Supreme Court confirmation hearing and limited the testimony against Thomas? And with age he became even softer.  We need a stronger fighter against Trump. Kamala has what is needed.”

Biden framed his step back as a move in defense of democracy.

“Defending democracy is part of the story. The main reason he stepped aside is that he would have lost to Trump, as opinion polls indicated.”

You still teach at Harvard, are working on a new book on women’s rights, and live between India, the US, and Europe. After Sabaudia, you will visit your anti-Brexit friends at Trinity College before starting the academic semester in the States. Not bad for a 90-year-old. What does old age mean to you?

“My problem is with physical fitness; I didn’t expect to be forced to move around in a wheelchair, and it hasn’t been easy to accept. Sometimes I feel physically exhausted, but I’m glad I haven’t lost the ability to think.”

Last October, you were reported dead: a hoax on social media picked up by some Indian newspapers. How did that make you feel?

“I knew it wasn’t true,” he smiles.

Based on an interview conducted by Alessandra Muglia for the Italian media-house Corriere Della Sera and further conversations with Amartya Sen.