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A South Asian candidate for the election of mayor of New York City is taking the Big Apple (and the world) by storm. Democrat and openly “socialist” Zohran Mamdani is currently making waves in the polls for the post of the city’s mayor because of his policies about the cost of living, coupled with his quirky social media content.

Born in Uganda, Mamdani is the son of Indian-Ugandan historian Mahmood Mamdani, author of the book Saviours and Survivors about the Darfur war, and acclaimed Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair, who directed the classic Salaam Bombay!

While former New York mayor billionaire Michael Bloomberg and Democratic heavyweights have endorsed former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, the young Democratic Congressional star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has thrown her support behind Mamdani.

“The difference between myself and Andrew Cuomo is that my campaign is not funded by the very billionaires who put Donald Trump in DC,” said Mamdani, whose eye-catching posters adorn storefronts in neighbourhoods including Brooklyn.

A New York State Assembly representative, Mamdani bills himself as Trump’s “worst nightmare” and champions social policies like free bus travel, raising the minimum wage to $30 per hour by 2030, and a tax hike for the wealthy.

But while his policies are great, that’s not what’s catching people’s attention around the world. Through his hilarious videos, including an Eid greeting card and a video where he’s talking entirely in Urdu as Bollywood music plays in the background, Mamdani has leveraged his South Asian roots to win the hearts of young Desis.

The cherry on top of the cake is how unapologetically himself Mamdani is as he embraces his culture. It serves as a reminder to not just young brown people, but also South Asian leaders, to treat our culture with respect and champion it proudly.

As New York gears up for the mayoral elections, here are some of our favourite Mamdani moments.

His Eid greeting video

On Eidul Azha, Mamdani, a Gujrati Muslim, shared an Eid Mubarak post, and to say it was iconic would be an understatement.

The post featured bright flowers, a heart-shaped wreath made out of roses, and a cut out of Mamdani’s face flashing in and out of the screen in ironically cringey transitions. The video not only wished Muslims Eid Mubarak but also told people to register to vote in the mayoral elections.

Needless to say, through this post, he tapped into his heritage and popular Gen Z culture to appeal to young South Asian voters. The video garnered over one million views and 100,000 likes on Instagram, as well as comments from Pakistani actor Mehwish Hayat and singer Ali Sethi.

Ali Sethi’s endorsement

Yes, AOC’s endorsement for Mamdani was pivotal in the race; however, Sethi also voiced his support for his “friend and brother” in an Instagram post complete with adorable pictures of the two.

“If (like me) you had given up hope, and were resigned to all kinds of grim scenarios (‘no point resisting’), with Zohran you have a REAL chance at renewal: renewal of self, community, city, party, country.”

Who are we to disagree with the ‘Pasoori’ singer?!

A lesson in what not to do and how to pronounce brown names

Cuomo is currently the frontrunner in the election, but the former governor is haunted by sexual harassment allegations.

In August 2021, New York Attorney General Letitia James accused Cuomo, whose father was also governor, of sexually harassing 11 women. He resigned, and then his brother Chris, a star anchor on CNN, had to leave for advising him.

It marked a spectacular downfall for the Cuomo dynasty.

During the democratic primary debate while discussing job experience, Cuomo repeatedly mispronounced Mamdani’s name and said, “Experience matters, and I think inexperience is dangerous in this case.”

Mispronouncing his name one more time, he said Mamdani had a staff of five people and would have to run a staff of 300,000 people and then listed all the things Mamdani had never done, such as dealing with unions and natural disasters.

In retaliation, Mamdani reminded everyone of Cuomo’s past, highlighting how he’s the better man for the job despite Cuomo’s experience.

“To Mr Cuomo. I have never had to resign in disgrace. I have never cut Medicaid. I have never stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from the MTA. I have never hounded the 13 women who credibly accused me of sexual harassment. I have never sued for their gynaecological records, and I have never done those things because I am not you, Mr Cuomo.”

If that wasn’t enough of a mic-drop moment, Mamdani went on to teach Cuomo a lesson on how to pronounce his name correctly.

“Furthermore, the name is Mamdani. M-A-M-D-A-N-I. You should learn how to say it.”

The mispronunciation of South Asian names, or any name that deviates from standard Western names, is a microaggression people of colour face every day, whether you’re living in a South Asian country or abroad. For Cuomo to mispronounce a candidate’s name was not only disrespectful but also hinted at the underlying racism rampant against people of colour.

This isn’t something that happens only in America. How many times have we been at an airport or visiting a Western country where white people don’t deign us worthy enough to attempt to pronounce our names correctly? We see it happening to Pakistani politicians and high profile figures on international platforms all the time — just think of the way they pronounce Fakhar Zaman or Babar Azam’s names.

It was refreshing to see Mamdani telling Cuomo (whose seemingly difficult name everyone manages to pronounce correctly) how to pronounce his name correctly. The move felt like a stand for all South Asians across the globe whose names have at one point or another been mispronounced by white people.

According to Mamdani, Cuomo also sent out mailers “that artificially lengthened and darkened” his beard.

“This is blatant Islamophobia — the kind of racism that explains why MAGA billionaires support his campaign,” Mamdani wrote on Instagram.

Instead of shaving his beard off for the election, which might have been the easier option, Mamdani continued to stand by what he believed was right and appear visibly South Asian instead of whitewashing his appearance. In a climate where Muslims are dubbed terrorists and South Asians face racism on an everyday basis, this move affirmed to South Asians across the globe that they don’t need to dilute their identity to be successful.

The ‘Nani’ rap song

A young Mamdani made a rap song about his nani in Jackson Heights while he rapped some wraps. Iconic? We think so. If you’re wondering what his rap name was, the answer is Young Cardamom.

The video also featured Madhur Jaffrey, an Indian-born British-American actor and cookbook author.

The song perfectly encapsulated the love all South Asians have for their nanis as Mamdani, wearing nothing but a black apron, urged them to make a rap/wrap for their maternal grandmothers.

Telling voters what they need to do — in Urdu

As part of his social media campaign, Mamdani made an entire video explaining how people should vote — in Urdu! The video featured the iconic ‘Om Shaanti Om’ playing softly in the background, as Mamdani asks, “Tum ne kabhi kisi ko vote diya?” [Have you ever voted for anyone?] à la Rishi Kapoor in Karz.

Mamdani then uses mango lassi — because what could possibly be more South Asian than mangoes AND lassi — to explain how the rank-based election system works and urged his followers to rank every candidate.

Also in the video? He tells people what Cuomo is offering using the legendary Amitabh Bachan clip from Deewar; “Today I have a building, property, bank balance, bungalow, car. What do you have?” Instead of Shashi Kapoor, Mamdani himself pops up on screen and informs his supporters that he has them.

The video has over 2.6 million views and 168,000 likes, but the best part? He does all of it in flawless Urdu, a rarity for members of the diaspora.

Not only does it connect with New Yorkers about to cast their ballots, but it serves as a reminder of a young, dynamic politician using Desi culture positively. There is no slapstick humour, no stereotypical jokes, no forced accents — just well-thought-out, relatable content that celebrates the richness of South Asian culture.

Politicians embracing South Asian culture in a respectful and empowering way is something we’d like to see in our own country. Instead of local leaders shrinking down their roots to accommodate other world leaders and norms, they should amplify their cultural identity and lead with confidence to make life easier for the average Desi person.

His politics and policies

Arguably, the best part of Mamdani’s entire campaign are the policies he’s promising. The candidate hopes to make public transport, such as buses, fast and free, make childcare available to all New Yorkers at no cost, and freeze the rent for every rent-stabilised tenant.

“The government’s job is to actually make our lives better. We can afford to bring down the rent, have world-class public transit, and make it easier to raise a family.”

Policies such as this, if implemented, would improve the quality of the lives of the thousands of South Asians living in New York. They also serve as a reminder that the hope for a better future for young brown people is being driven by our own, those who are actively working to transform our lives.

Moreover, Mamdani has repeatedly voiced his support for Palestinians as Israel continues its atrocities in the Gaza Strip. According to The New York Times, Mamdani used the term ‘genocide’ to describe the situation in Gaza and supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement, which puts non-violent pressure on Israel.

In an interview with Politico, Mamdani said, “I’ve long been a supporter of nonviolent movements that call for the adherence of international law. And I’ve supported BDS in the past. And it is an extension of that same principle, that we have to use every tool that is at people’s disposal to ensure that equality is not simply a hope, but a reality.”

However, his support for Palestine is in no way anti-Semitic. During a Democrat debate, mayoral candidates were asked which country they would first visit and while all candidates said Israel, Mamdani maintained that he would remain in New York and he believed that he did not need to travel to Israel to stand up for Jewish New Yorkers.

“As the mayor, I will be standing up for Jewish New Yorkers, and I will be meeting them wherever they are across the five boroughs, whether that’s in their synagogues or temples or in their homes or at the subway platform. Because ultimately, we need to focus on delivering on their concerns.”

Mamdani believes that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi needed to be viewed similarly — as “war criminals”.

When asked if Mamdani would reaffirm the strong bond between India and New York at the request of Modi, he said no.

“My father, his family comes from Gujarat, in India, and his family is Muslim, I’m Muslim. And Narendra Modi helped to orchestrate what was a mass slaughter of Muslims in Gujarat, to the extent that we don’t even believe there are Gujarati Muslims anymore, and when I tell someone that I am, it’s a shock to them.”

Additional input via AFP