Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who represents Washington’s 7th congressional district including parts of Seattle, lost her father on Jan. 20. She is travelling to India to mourn his passing, she announced in a statement. Her father, M.P. Jayapal, was 93. He was a marketing professional who had travelled widely for his career.
Jayapal frequently paid tribute to her father on Father’s Day through her Instagram account. On Father’s Day in 2022, she spoke of his dedication to family, and his belief in the equality of men and women despite being from a traditional culture. She attributed her own presence in the US to him.
“My dad always was enamored of America,” she said in her post.
Last year she celebrated his love for dancing and singing despite his advancing dementia.
Along with Jayapal herself, her sister will spend time in India, joining their mother. Jayapal’s mother, Maya, is an urban historian who writes about the Bengaluru, the city. Her parents had settled there in 1993.
Jayapal was born in Chennai in the south of India in 1965. She was her parents’ second child. Jayapal’s older sister, Susheela, is a lawyer in Portland.
The family moved to Jakarta, Indonesia, when Jayapal was three, and then to Singapore. She left home for America at the age of 16 to attend Georgetown University.
After some years in the corporate world, Jayapal joined public service. She was elected to the US Congress in 2017, endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, and became a champion of progressive causes, particularly as regards immigrant rights. For six years, she chaired the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Her most recent book, Use the Power You Have: A Brown Woman’s Guide to Politics and Political Change, came out in 2020.
Jayapal made history when she was elected to Congress, becoming the first Indian American woman to serve as a Representative.
Her parents spoke of her congressional career with pride when she was elected.
“We never thought of her becoming a politician,” her father told Indian outlet Firstpost in 2017. “I am very happy with what she has done.”
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