Name: Zohran Mamdani makes history as NYCs first South Asian mayor
Uploaded: 2025-11-09T13:33:28.218Z
Duration: 2 min 7 s
Description: Zohran Mamdani’s election as New York City’s next mayor marks a historic first for South Asians in the United States. His campaign - drawing on his family’s roots in India - emphasized returning power to the people, tackling socio-economic inequality, and honoring the city’s multi-faith identity.

Zohran Mamdani’s election as New York City’s next mayor marks a historic first for South Asians in the United States. His campaign - drawing on his family’s roots in India - emphasized returning power to the people, tackling socio-economic inequality, and honoring the city’s multi-faith identity.

New York

Zohran Mamdani has been elected as New York City's first South Asian mayor, marking a significant milestone in the city's political history. Drawing inspiration from India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Mamdani emphasized themes of progress, equality, and pluralism in his victory speech.

Mamdani's campaign addressed socio-economic inequality and promoted a more affordable city for residents. He also pledged to serve all New Yorkers, regardless of background or political affiliation, and celebrated his heritage by incorporating Bollywood elements and Hindi language into his outreach.

Zohran Mamdani makes history as NYC's first South Asian mayor

A new dawn for New Yorkers, ushered in with words that recall the newly independent India of his ancestors. Standing before you, I think of the words of Jawaharlal Nehru, a moment comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends and when the soul of a nation long suppressed finds utterance. A break from the past, more than seven decades after Nehru evoked the same idea as the first Prime Minister of India. In his 1947 Trist with Destiny speech, he spoke of his ambition to free the common man and end poverty. Tackling socio-economic inequality has also been a feature of Mamdani's campaign, pushing for a more affordable city for its residents. And in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious society like India, Nehru was a staunch defender of secularity, standing against religious discrimination. A position echoed by Mamdani, who's underlined that pluralism is something to be celebrated and has resolved to tackle Islamophobia and anti-Semitism. I look forward to being a mayor for every single person that calls this city home. Not just those who voted for me in the democratic primary, not just those that vote for me in this general election, but all eight and a half million New Yorkers. And that includes Jewish New Yorkers who may have concerns or opposition to the positions that I've shared about Israel and Palestine. Sohran Mamdani's parents were both born in India, his mother an award-winning filmmaker, his father an academic. He's reached out to the diaspora in New York by embracing a Bollywood aesthetic, speaking Hindi in campaign videos. Have you ever voted for anyone? Yes! Have you ever ranked anyone? Yes! Look, here in New York City, we have ranked choice voting. And wrapping up his victory speech with a mic drop scored to a Bollywood banger, Doon Machale.

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