MANGALURU: As Democrat Abdul El-Sayed makes history as the first Muslim elected to the US Senate, his wife, Dr Sarah Jukaku, has brought a little-known Karnataka connection into the spotlight.A practising psychiatrist, Sarah was born into an Indian-immigrant Muslim family in Michigan, whose roots trace back to the coastal town of Bhatkal in Karnataka, around 140km from Mangaluru.Her family has a notable legacy in the region. Her grandfather, Jukaku Shamshuddin, served as deputy minister for finance in Mysore State under then chief minister BD Jatti. He was also regarded as the first lawyer from the Bhatkal region and is remembered for his contributions to the town’s development, including bringing electricity to the area.Sarah is the daughter of Dr Tayeb Jukaku, a nephrologist who completed his MBBS in Bengaluru before moving to the US. Her father has also been associated with the Islamic Society of North America, serving on its founders’ committee.Although Sarah 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. While much of the extended family is now settled in Bengaluru, Sarah’s immediate family has largely remained in the US.Sarah met El-Sayed while they were students at the University of Michigan, where both were associated with the Muslim Students’ Association. The couple married in May 2006 and have two daughters, Emmalee and Serene.Sarah pursued studies in sociology and Near East studies at the University of Michigan before earning a master’s degree from the University of Oxford. She later completed her medical studies at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and went on to build a career in psychiatry.Her family’s Karnataka connection has also been reflected in El-Sayed’s own remarks about his South Indian roots through marriage. “I’ve been married in a South Indian family for 20 years… I’m well inducted now. You know, I might be more Indian than I’m Arab,” he once said in an interview.Sarah has also offered glimpses of the couple’s equation during the election campaign. At a campaign rally, she jokingly declared, “Nobody tells him what to do, except me!”, drawing laughter from the audience.With El-Sayed’s election victory, the Bhatkal family’s connection to American politics has drawn renewed attention, bringing a Karnataka family’s legacy into the story of a historic US Senate election.
