FORMER United States ambassador Nikki Haley has held a number of political positions.
Although she was born and raised in South Carolina, her parents are immigrants from India.
Who are Nikki Haley’s parents?
Nikki Haley’s mother Raj Randhawa and father Ajit Randhawa are both retired educators and clothing boutique owners.
Raj and Ajit also emigrated to the US from their home country India.
Both of Haley’s parents are from the Amritsar district of Punjab, India.
After earning her master’s degree in education, Raj taught students at South Carolina’s Bamberg School District One.
Ajit received his PhD from the University of British Columbia and went on to teach at Voorhees College.
In addition to their daughter and 2024 Presidential hopeful Nikki, Raj, and Ajit have three more children.
They have another daughter named Simran and two sons named Mitti and Charan.
The family also owned a foreign goods store-turned-clothing boutique named Exotica International.
When Haley’s parents retired from teaching, they also closed down their business.
Haley addressed her family’s struggle with raising Indian children in South Carolina during her speech at the 2020 Republican National Convention.
She told the crowd: “I am the proud daughter of Indian immigrants.
“They came to America and settled in a small Southern town. My father wore a turban. My mother wore a sari. I was a brown girl in a Black and white world.
“We faced discrimination and hardship but my parents never gave in to grievance and hate.”
Who are Nikki’s siblings?
Nikki’s older sister Simran Singh is a radio host and metaphysical specialist.
Meanwhile, her older brother Mitti is a retired member of the United States Army Chemical Corps and her younger brother Charan is a web designer.
“In the end, I think we’re doing the same thing,” Simran said while comparing Nikki’s career to her own.
She commented to the Charleston City Paper: “She’s helping to clean up the outer landscape. I work on cleaning up the inner landscape.
“Her life took the trajectory of being in the public eye. My life took the trajectory of ‘I need to hide’ and I became very introspective.”
