- First Muslim Senator: Democrat Abdul El-Sayed wins Michigan Senate seat, making history in the November 3 midterms.
- Karnataka Connection: His wife, Dr. Sarah Jukaku, is the granddaughter of JH Shamsuddin Jukaku, a former Mysore State deputy finance minister from Bhatkal, Karnataka.
- Family Legacy & Migration: Shamsuddin's family contributed to local infrastructure and education; his descendants moved to the US, where Sarah met El-Sayed at the University of Michigan, linking US politics with Indian heritage.
The US has elected its first-ever Muslim Senator. Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has made history by winning the Michigan Senate seat as part of the November 3 midterms, which saw a blue wave sweep across the nation. What is not that well known, though, is his connection to Karnataka. His wife, Dr Sarah Jukaku, is the granddaughter of a former minister in the erstwhile Mysore State Government.
Sarah's family traces its roots to Bhatkal, a coastal town in Karnataka's Uttara Kannada district, around 140 km north of Mangaluru. Her grandfather, JH Shamsuddin Jukaku, was a prominent lawyer, educator and politician who served as deputy finance minister in the erstwhile Mysore State government in the 1950s.
For context, the Mysore State was formed when the Kingdom Of Mysore was incorporated into the Republic of India in 1950. It was enlarged as part of the States Reorganisation Act on November 1, 1956, and was officially renamed Karnataka in November 1973.
WHO WAS JH SHAMSUDDIN JUKAKU?
JH Shamsuddin Jukaku was a prominent lawyer and public figure from Bhatkal, belonging to the Nawayath Muslim community. They are an ancient Muslim merchant community, mostly from the Arabian Peninsula, Iran and Iraq, which settled in the coastal towns of southern India over the last 600 years.
According to a report in The Indian Express, Shamsuddin was the first person to qualify as a lawyer and later be elected as a minister from his community.
He was elected to the Bombay Legislative Assembly in 1946 and later represented the Honnavar constituency in the Mysore Legislative Assembly, winning elections in 1957 and 1962. In 1958, he became deputy minister for finance in the government led by Chief Minister BD Jatti. He subsequently served as deputy minister for electricity under Chief Minister S Nijalingappa.
In an American Bazaar report published on October 10, residents of Shamsuddin's hometown, Bhatkal, credited him with helping bring electricity and other essential infrastructure to Bhatkal and surrounding areas. He was also closely associated with Anjuman Hami-e-Muslimeen, a charitable trust that runs educational institutions in the town.
Mohammed Tanveer Kasarkod, a Bhatkal-based engineer familiar with the family's history, told The American Bazaar that Shamsuddin became a lawyer at a time when access to education was limited.
For decades, a prominent intersection in Bhatkal was known as Shamsuddin Circle, named after him. Although the structure at the junction was later demolished during road development, its name continues to be associated with the former minister.
Shamsuddin died at the age of 52, leaving behind six daughters and four sons. His family subsequently moved to different parts of India, with several members settling in Bengaluru.
FROM BHATKAL TO THE US
One of Shamsuddin's sons, Dr Jukaku S Tayeb, was among those who moved out of Bhatkal for better opportunities.
A nephrologist, Tayeb graduated from Bangalore Medical College in 1976. According to The American Bazaar, he worked in Saudi Arabia before moving to the US in the 1980s.
He completed his residency in internal medicine at Bon Secours Hospital in Michigan between 1984 and 1987, followed by a nephrology fellowship at Henry Ford Hospital from 1987 to 1989. He subsequently established a medical practice in the Detroit area.
Sarah was born and raised in Michigan in an Indian immigrant family. Although she grew up in the US, her father made conscious efforts to keep his children connected to their ancestral roots, ensuring they visited Bengaluru and Bhatkal.
According to The American Bazaar, the family also maintained connections with Coorg, while several members of the extended family eventually settled in Bengaluru.
HOW SARAH JUKAKU MET ABDUL EL-SAYED
Sarah attended the University of Michigan, where she met El-Sayed. The two were associated with the university's Muslim Students' Association and married in May 2006.
According to The American Bazaar, Sarah was 19 and El-Sayed was 21 when they married.
Sarah went on to pursue graduate studies at the University of Oxford before earning her medical degree from Columbia University's Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2015. She subsequently built a career in psychiatry and also held a leadership position in psychiatry at University of Michigan Health, according to the publication.
El-Sayed has spoken publicly about his connection to his wife's Indian heritage.
At a gathering marking Pakistan's Independence Day on August 23, he described Sarah as desi, a term commonly used for people of South Asian heritage, and said she was from the other side of the Partition line, reported The American Bazaar.
In another interview, he spoke humorously about his familiarity with South Indian culture after nearly two decades of marriage.
"Listen, I've been married in a South Indian family for 20 years, like... I am well inducted now. You know, I might be more Indian than I am Arab," he said.
In another remark, he described himself as being surrounded by desi women, referring to his wife and their two daughters.
For Bhatkal, El-Sayed's election has brought renewed attention to a family whose roots run deep in the coastal town. While the new senator's political career has been built in the US, his marriage to Sarah Jukaku connects him to a family that produced a MLA and a minister in post-Independence India.
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