Nithya Raman, first South Asian to lead Los Angeles, was born in Keralam’s Thrissur

Nithya Raman, whose family has roots in Kerala’s capital Thiruvananthapuram, moved to the US with her parents when she was six.

Nithya Raman, the Indian-American city council member who was elected mayor of California’s Los Angeles on Thursday, has her roots in Keralam.

Raman was born in Thrissur, studied at Harvard and MIT, and worked on sanitation and homelessness in India before entering Los Angeles politics. (Getty Images via AFP)

The 45-year-old defeated incumbent mayor Karen Bass to become the first South Asian to lead America’s second-largest city, which is due to host the Olympics in 2028.

Raman was born on July 28, 1981, in Thrissur to Tamil Brahmin parents. Her family lived for decades in a lane adjoining the Ramaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram’s Kottakkathu neighbourhood.

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While her paternal grandfather, K Ramayyar, was a postmaster, her father, R Venkataraman, was employed at Keltron. Her mother, Sudha, was an employee at the Indian Overseas Bank. She emigrated with her parents to the US when she was six.

Raman last visited Thiruvananthapuram five years ago. Her paternal relatives still reside in the state capital.

Raman completed her graduation in social studies at Harvard University in 2003 and earned her master’s in urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

During the few years that she spent in India after her higher education, Raman was involved in sanitation work through an NGO in Chennai. She worked to improve sanitation programmes in the city in coordination with the municipal corporation. She also worked in Delhi with the homeless population.

Raman was first elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 2020, and her campaign was backed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

After her victory, Raman promised to improve neglected city services in Los Angeles and undertake medical and housing efforts for the homeless in the city.