Already bursting with pride at Kamala Harris's ancestry, India has now started digging up potential local roots for US President-elect Joe Biden.
The next leader of the United States has speculated that he might have had relatives in colonial India. While there is no proof, the Biden name has become a genealogical target of investigation across the country.
A plaque commemorating 19th-century British ship captain Christopher Biden has been a popular selfie spot in the eastern city of Chennai since the US election.
And a Biden family in western India says it has become "exhausted" by calls since their namesake staked his claim to the White House.
The American vote has been under the spotlight in India because Biden's running mate is the daughter of a migrant from Tamil Nadu state.
The 56-year-old Harris has made much of her Indian connections and how she likes to eat "idli with a really good sambar" -- typical food from the south.
Less attention has been paid to Biden, who has established Irish links. But he spoke of possible Indian connections on a trip to Mumbai in 2013 when he was vice president.
Biden said in a speech that he had received a letter from an Indian Biden after becoming a senator in 1972, suggesting they could be related.
"One of the first letters I received and I regret I never followed up on it," he said.
Mumbai Bidens lie low
The letter said their "mutual, great, great, great, something or other worked for the East India Trading Company back in the 1700s".
It sparked excitement in Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu state, which is also home to Harris's Indian relatives.
A plaque at St George's Cathedral in Chennai that celebrates Christopher Biden, born in 1789, has suddenly become a local tourist draw.
"We've come to know the records of two Bidens -- William Biden and Christopher Biden -- who were brothers and became captains of the East India Company on merchant ships in the 19th century," the Bishop of Madras, Reverend J. George Stephen, told AFP.
"While William Biden died at an early age, Christopher Biden went on to captain several ships, and eventually settled down in Madras," which is now known as Chennai.
Despite the speculation, there has been no confirmation that the Biden brothers are related to the 77-year-old American.
If the president-elect does have an Indian ancestor, Christopher is considered the most likely candidate, according to experts who have studied family records.
There are also Bidens in Mumbai and Nagpur in Maharashtra state who could be descendants of Christopher, one of eight children of a John Biden who could be the common link.
The media attention has been overwhelming, according to the Maharashtra Bidens. Indian media has speculated that their late grandfather Leslie wrote to the US politician.
Rowena Biden, a family member in Mumbai, insisted that they were not trying to establish any relationship.
"We wish Mr. Joe Biden all the best for his new role as president of the USA but we are not trying to establish any connections or linkages," she told AFP.
"We share a last name and that's about it," she said.
"All of us are well-to-do financially and have well-settled lives so we don't need any gains -- monetary or non-monetary."
Rowena Biden said that after the first reports came out about the possible links, "people started tracking us to our house and everyone in the family had to bear the brunt of it".
The "undue limelight" had cast a shadow over "the primacy of Mr. Biden's win and our privacy as well", she said.
AFP RELAXNEWS
Mon Nov 16 2020
US President-elect Joe Biden - AFP Relax
Polis bongkar makmal haram milik suami isteri, rampas dadah bernilai RM1.4 juta
Polis membongkar sebuah makmal haram dan stor penyimpanan dadah milik sepasang suami isteri dalam tiga serbuan berasingan di sekitar Lembah Klang.
Raih RM35.3 juta, Sheriff kini filem No. 1 dengan kutipan tertinggi tahun ini
Kejayaan ini menyaksikan Sheriff mengetepikan filem besar antarabangsa dan terus mendominasi carta kutipan tahun ini.
MOM jangka 10 lagi atlet akan raih tiket ke Olimpik Paris
Presiden Majlis Olimpik Malaysia (MOM) Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria mengesahkan bahawa sebanyak 18 atlet kebangsaan daripada tujuh jenis sukan layak ke Olimpik Paris 2024 setakat hari ini.
Kelas terapung atasi masalah sekolah padat - Fadhlina
Pelaksanaan kelas terapung di sekolah-sekolah yang mempunyai kepadatan tinggi dapat membantu mengatasi isu kesesakan pelajar.
Tak tinggal sebumbung, Nora Danish akui rumah tangga bergolak
Nora mengakui rumah tangga yang dibina tujuh tahun lalu goyah, namun mereka berdua sedang berusaha untuk menangani kemelut tersebut.
Penolong pegawai perubatan didenda RM3,000 terima rasuah urus jenazah
Seorang penolong pegawai perubatan di Hospital Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Temerloh didenda RM3,000 kerana menerima rasuah berkaitan kerja pengurusan jenazah.
KBS laksana kajian impak penganjuran Sukan SEA 2027
Mesyuarat mengenai perkara itu masih berjalan dengan penglibatan pelbagai pihak bagi mengenal pasti kelebihan dan kekurangan.
19 individu ditahan dipercayai terbabit sindiket pelaburan palsu
Mereka terdiri daripada lapan lelaki dan tujuh wanita tempatan serta empat lelaki warga asing berusia antara 16 hingga 38 tahun.
[TERKINI] Selamatkan Gaza: Dialog dua Perdana Menteri di Mesyuarat Khas WEF Arab Saudi
Tiga PM iaitu PM Palestin, Jordan dan Mesir serta wakil PBB di Gaza duduk sepentas berdialog secara langsung mencari formula menyelamatkan Gaza yang menjadi pusat graviti kepada kestabilan rantau Asia Barat.
OCC: Masih banyak usaha perlu dibuat dalam isu hak kanak-kanak - Azalina
Malaysia masih ketinggalan berbanding negara lain dalam menangani isu penderaan dan masalah sosial melibatkan kanak-kanak.
Biden kekal tidak sokong pencerobohan di Rafah
Mesej itu disampaikan menerusi perbualan telefon dengan Perdana Menteri Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu pada Ahad.
Biden rancang untuk berdebat dengan Trump
Sebelum ini, Biden tidak komited untuk berdebat dengan lawannya, Trump.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Biden enggan hadir pendengaran awam - Jawatankuasa Pemantauan Dewan AS
Biden menolak permintaan anggota kongres untuk memberi keterangan secara terbuka sebagai sebahagian daripada siasatan pendakwaan yang tertumpu kepada dakwaan aktiviti jenayah oleh keluarganya.
Jordan tidak benarkan perang serantau berlaku di wilayahnya - Raja Abdullah II
Raja Abdullah menekankan keperluan untuk menghentikan peningkatan konflik di rantau itu dengan segera.
Biden jangka Iran tidak akan berlengah untuk serang Israel
Biden berkata beliau tidak mahu memberi penjelasan lanjut terhadap maklumat risikan sulit diperoleh Washington mengenai rancangan Tehran.
Biden ikrar sokong Israel sekiranya diserang Iran
AS akan terus melindungi keselamatan Israel sekalipun ketika Biden dan Netanyahu sering tidak sependapat konflik di Palestin.
China berharap jadi rakan, bukan pencabar Amerika Syarikat
Perkembangan hubungan China-Amerika Syarikat (AS) yang diterajui pemimpin kedua-dua negara stabil pada masa ini, kata Perdana Menteri China Li Qiang.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Israel "tidak melakukan secukupnya untuk melindungi pekerja bantuan" di Gaza - Biden
Presiden Amerika Syarikat Joe Biden "marah" dan "kecewa" berhubung serangan udara Israel di Gaza yang mengorbankan tujuh pekerja bantuan World Central Kitchen.