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5 Bidens in India: PM Modi, Biden share light moment as Modi says he has their papers

By | Written by Poulomi Ghosh
Sep 24, 2021 10:19 PM IST

Joe Biden burst into laughter as PM Modi said he brought some documents regarding the Bidens in India. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden shared a light moment during their much-awaited bilateral summit on Friday in the White House as Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he brought some papers regarding those in India who have Biden surname. This was something that Joe Biden had claimed long before he became the President. During a visit to Mumbai in 2013, Biden had said that his distant relatives lived in Mumbai.

PM Modi and US President Joe Biden share a fun moment as they talk about the Bidens in India. 
PM Modi and US President Joe Biden share a fun moment as they talk about the Bidens in India. 

"You have told about people with the surname Biden. You have personally told me about this. Since then I have been trying to look into this. I have brought some documents also if they may come to any use," PM Modi said in Hindi, with a smile on his face.

As his comment was translated into English, Joe Biden burst into laughter and asked in disbelief whether he actually brought some documents. PM Modi nodded with a smile.

'Known you for a long time,' says Biden, PM Modi praises US Prez's vision

Following the light exchange, PM Modi started his remark in which he praised Joe Biden's leadership and hoped for a new era in the history of India-US ties.

 Biden too recalled the episode and said when he visited Chembur in Mumbai as the vice president of the United States, he was asked by the Indian press whether he had any relatives in India. "I said I don't know but I had received a letter from someone called Biden from India. The next day, Indian press told me that there are five Bidens in India," Biden said. Biden received the letter in 1981 when he was 29 years old. 

Are there 5 Bidens in India?

Reports said Ian Biden, his sister Sonia Francis nee Biden, their mother Angelina Biden, Ian and Sonia's first cousin Rowena Biden are the Bidens of India. The letter that Joe Biden talked about was apparently written to him by Leslie Biden, paternal grandfather of Ian Biden. 

But they are based in Nagpur and the Joe Biden thinks they are from Mumbai as the letter was written from Mumbai, then Bombay. The Nagpur address was mentioned in the letter and Biden replied to the Nagpur address, reports said.

 

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