Indians have always experienced this when some of their parents leave the nation in pursuit of better opportunities, but they use their Desi identity for their own political agendas. Meanwhile, people in distant places celebrate and applaud their success as their own accomplishment. Zoharan Mamdani is the newest person on the list.
It’s all about who he is. The first Muslim of Indian heritage (Uganda would be more appropriate), the youngest mayor, and the first immigrant mayor since the 1970s of New York City. In addition to his multiple identities being celebrated by his followers, Mamdani himself defended his identity in his first speech after Victory.
Mr. Mamdani will assume office on January 1, 2026, and will seek to implement his socialist program in New York, the epicentre of global capitalism. Why is Mamdani being hailed across the board? The rationale is simple in the United States where he is a Democratic Party candidate who defeated the Trump-led Republican Mayor. As a result, Democrats and progressive members of the global community hail it as a win over Trump’s nasty, divisive, racist, Islamophobic, anti-immigrant, and dictatorial policies.
We Indians are similarly divided into two camps. The right-wing and Modi supporters frequently take refuge in the shoes of those who loathe Muslims and support majoritarianism. Obviously, the left-liberal section here irritates right-wingers by sharing videos and stories in which Mamdani proudly expresses his Muslim identity. If you closely examine a number of cases from the past few decades, you will see that the Indian elite and city-based armchair intellectuals-typically Savarnas-come out bragging about how accurate they are in theorising domestic and global politics.
They miserably attempted it with Anna Hazare as the Gandhian, followed by his pupil Kejriwal as the crusader of corruption and a beacon of an alternative politics. Using the soft Hindutva card to fight with the BJP, Kejriwal organising Sundarkand recitals on the first Tuesday of every month in Delhi cannot be forgotten. While Prashant Kishore, the founder of Today’s Jan Suraaj, is regarded as a Chanakya of electoral politics strategy, Kanahiya Kumar, once thought to be the hope of student politics, withdrew himself from Left politics and joined the so-called communal capitalist Indian National Congress. With Mr. Mamdani, they are essentially repeating the same thing.
All of these promises-free buses, Mohlla clinics, excellent education, women’s safety, the Lokpal Bill, corrupt-Thulla free Delhi-were sold by Delhi based politician, Mr. Kejriwal few years back. Now examine the promises made by Mr. Mamdani. A few items that are very similar to Kejriwal’s populist program for Delhi include universal child care, public safety, rental housing, free and rapid buses in New York City, and a reduction in crime in the city. Mr. Kejriwal’s derogatory use of the name “Thulla” for Delhi Police is reminiscent of Mamdani’s apology for referring to New York Police as “racist, anti-queer, and a major threat to public safety.”
Arguably, the New York City metropolitan region from where Mamdani himself an immigrant, is home to the largest foreign-born population of any metropolitan region in the world. Walking out of John F Kennedy International airport, in a second, you will find some Punjabi taxi driver with big turban raising hand for passenger. Moroccan, Italian, Mexican, Korean, Chinese restaurant and what not in New York city. Just have a plate of Biryani of South Asian taste and buy a costly classic cigarette from a Bangladeshi small shop just next to subway gate in Manhattan is representative of New York cosmopolitan nature.
Because of his parents’ accomplishments, Mamdani’s personal life has been privileged. His father, Mahmood Mamdani, is currently a professor at Columbia University, and his mother, Mira Nair, is a renowned film director. When Mamdani was only seven years old, his parents moved to the United States from Kampala.
Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx are its four administrative boroughs. The UN, Columbia, New York University, and the New School are among its historical establishments. The rent and housing costs in Manhattan are unaffordable. Since most city workers cannot afford to live nearby, they take the train to get here in order to save a few bucks. In 2018, during President Trump’s first term, my professor at New School usually takes the train and tells this story every day. Understanding this suffering, Mamdani rallied the populace in his side by demanding that rent be frozen going forward if he were elected city mayor.
You walk in Manhattan street, or visit Brookline Bridge, you would find the more sophisticated version of Delhi’s Connaught Place in terms of diverse populace and modern outlook. At least, I felt the same when I take walk from 12 street to subway or going for an evening walk towards Hudson Bank.
Mamdani’s triumph has sparked debate and discussion all over the world. The conversation revolves primarily around two issues: his identity and the massive fundamental class mobilizational mechanisms that drove him to derail the elitist and divisive MAGA agenda. As a result, his identity and socialist objective provided opportunities for both Marxist and identarian rationales for his achievement. On the other hand, my opinion is based on my own experience in New York and certain observations from Dr. Saswat Patnaiak, a New York-based independent journalist.
The Muslim identity has been questioned, challenged, and reviled by the majority of European, American, and Indian sensibilities. The book ‘Good Muslim Bad Muslim’, published by Zohran Madani’s father, Mahmood Mamdani, might readily provide the answers. This critical book was released following the 9/11 attacks and the Bush administration’s ensuing political campaign against the Muslim community and the Middle East. The theories presented in Samuel Huntington’s contentious book, “The Clash of Civilisations and the Remaking of World Order,” show how Islamic civilisation, along with others, contains fault lines that run counter to Western civilisation.
Zohran Mamdani’s unwavering support for Palestine and his harsh criticism of Mr. Modi for the “mass murder of Indian Muslims in Gujarat” sparked controversy and mobilised Muslim voters with his audacious stances. This bold, clear ideological standing and apologetical approach of Mamdani as a Muslim, sparked debates across the globe. The pouring of articles in his support by left liberals could be ascertain from Aljazeera and New York Times. The recent story in The New York Times, titled ‘The Demographic Trends That Shaped Mamdani’s Win,’ highlights ethnic/religious disparities among voters in the last Mayor race. Accordingly, “moderate Black voters and young progressives supported Zohran Mamdani for mayor, while Andrew Cuomo won many wealthy New Yorkers and those who voted for Donald Trump.
According to figures from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 450,000 South Asians, or 5% of the population, live in New York City. This study claims that “South Asian voters have recently shown signs of a rightward shift, like almost every other demographic group.” Compared to 2020, more Indian Americans declared in 2024 that they will support Republicans.
Typical identarian viewpoints are unable to comprehend the complexity of the city. Rather New Yorker from all throughout the section voted him from White youngsters of Manhattan to Jews of Brooklyn. Dr. Saswat Pattanayak, an independent media researcher and activist in New York City, informed me over the phone that Mamdani is a Pakka New Yorker. He is aware of the city’s multicultural environment. He dismissed his Shiate identity, saying that it is utter nonsense for anyone to claim that it has any bearing. Of Course his Muslim identity played vital role’. Additionally, he acknowledges during our lengthy talk that “even the Jews of Brooklyn too voted for his progressive policies.”
I believe Dr. Pattanayak’s argument is valid because, after Mamdani’s victory, President Trump wrote on Truth Social, ‘Any Jewish person that votes for Zohran Mamdani, a proven and self-professed JEW HATER, is a stupid person.’ Trump repeatedly called Mamdani a “Communist lunatic” and a “disaster waiting to happen,” It’s true that Mamdani’s socialist agenda appealed to New Yorkers. He was a joint candidate for the Democratic Party and the Working Families Party. He has also been a member of the Democratic Socialists of America since 2017, describing himself as a democratic socialist, the largest socialist organisation in the United States.
His democratic socialist agenda attracted both fans and critiques around the world. In India, socialist and Communist party supporters and sympathisers are overly happy over his triumph. In response to my query, can we label Mamdani a communist? Dr. Pattanayak first chuckled and said that “communist” is a slur in the United States’. Furthermore, he mockingly stated that “Mamdani is not a communist like CPI or CPM type.” ‘He is from the Democratic Party. This party’s capitalist and warmongering background is well-known. He is a welfare socialist, comparable to Scandinavian countries, in which ordinary folks benefit from government handouts at the expense of high taxes.
For the majority of New Yorkers, the Democratic Party and its progressive leaders were always their first option. Anyone with a basic understanding of politics can see that the United States of America is divided into Red (Republican Party), Blue (Democratic Party), and Purple (swing) States. And New York has primarily been a blue state.
Furthermore, Compared to other American cities and, in fact, the entire world, New York’s demographics are very distinct. When it comes to foreign language speakers, nationality, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, it is the most diverse nation. The city is incredibly varied, with over 800 different languages spoken there.
According to Pew Research data from 2023–2024, 27% of New Yorkers are religiously unaffiliated, 13% practise other religions, and 57% are Christians. Is it not yet another obstacle to the Trump-led MAGA agenda of making America white again?
My professor once suggested that if I was experiencing homesickness, I should go to Jackson Height. Mamdani’s occasionally aligns himself with the large number of South Asian immigrants residing in Jackson Heights in his interviews and speeches. This helped him win over the majority of Bangladeshi and Pakistani voters. Surprisingly, both Trump and Mamdani are from Queens, which is frequently referred to be the most ethnically diverse metropolitan area. Mamdani’s resounding triumph, however, is more significantly influenced by the political and ethnic landscape of the city.
My final question for Dr. Pattanayak gave the gist of Mamdani’s future in the office. According to Pattanayak, ‘His proposals, such as grocery stores and free buses, are relatively simple to implement. However, if he raises taxes on the wealthy and distributes to the poor, he will undoubtedly face hurdle not only from Republicans, but also from his own governor and party.
As the incoming mayor of the city, we hope that Mamdani would work to improve the lives of New Yorkers rather than revert to any worldwide populist agenda. Simultaneously, his supporter would unite behind all of his radical policies, as any New Yorker ought to.
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Chandra Sen (PhD) did his PhD from Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, JNU. He also received China India Scholar-Leaders (2018-2020) Fellowship, India China Institute, The New School, New York USA. Currently working as a Research Officer, Indian institute of Public Administration (IIPA), New Delhi.
His email [email protected]