Zohran Mamdani’s election as New York City’s next mayor is being celebrated as a standout progressive victory in a sharply divided era of U.S. politics. But for the 34-year-old leader, his Indian heritage is layered and political — not simply a cultural flourish on election night.
Mamdani, whose mother is acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair and whose father is Ugandan-born academic Mahmood Mamdani, proudly highlighted his South Asian background during his campaign. At his victory celebration, for example, he played Bollywood hit “Dhoom Machale” and referenced India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, quoting from the iconic 1947 “Tryst with Destiny” speech about hope and nation-building.
However, his connection to India also includes firm political critique. Mamdani has been openly critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, grouping him alongside Donald Trump and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu as leaders whose governing approach and rhetoric he strongly opposes. His mother, Mira Nair, has expressed similar views.
While some Indian-Americans applauded Mamdani’s stance as principled, others — including supporters of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party — pushed back, accusing him of misunderstanding or misrepresenting Modi’s leadership.
Mamdani’s win makes him the first Muslim and first mayor of Indian origin in New York’s history. Yet his message suggests that cultural pride, for him, does not mean political alignment — and that his vision of identity remains both deeply personal and firmly ideological.
