Mandya: Indian-American Dr Vivek Murthy, who has origins in Karnataka, may get a key position in the US Government if Democratic nominee Joe Biden wins the presidency as he is currently one of the key strategists in the campaign.
A former US Surgeon General, the 43-year-old is among many experts that Democratic nominee Biden consults and reportedly, along with economist Raj Chetty, Murthy is advising Biden on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr Murthy, who was the youngest person to be appointed as surgeon general in 2014 by US President Barack Obama, has roots in the Hallegere village of the Mandya district. His grandfather is H T Narayan Shetty, a backward class leader and aide of former chief minister D Devaraj Urs.
Dr Murthy was born in London and raised in the US. He graduated with a BA degree from Harvard University, an MBA from Yale School of Management, and an MD from Yale School of Medicine.
Reportedly, Murthy has not forgotten Kannada, his mother tongue, and still speaks it at home. He still visits Hallegere every year and has donated millions of dollars to promote education in the village. The people of his village are excited that he will be placed in a high post in the White House.
Recalling his family and and his agricultural background when he was appointed as US Surgeon General, he said in 2015 that his family was never supposed to have left their ancestral village as his father was supposed to have been a farmer, as was he. They never would have left is his grandfather had not insisted that his son get an education.
“We were not supposed to have become Americans. My parents stopped in three other countries – including a brutal dictatorship – on their journey to get here. They saved up money and scrounged for information about job opportunities, always knowing that America was the destination,” Murthy said, according to a report.
