prajwal

Don't tell me what Zohran Mamdani's victory means for me as a "South Asian" New Yorker. I am a lifelong liberal New Yorker. I grew up in Westchester, and I've lived in the city since 1997. I love this messy place. I believe in our particular spirit and expressions of democracy, pluralism, and human dignity that push against the towering impulses of this town. I love our viewpoint diversity, the push and pull of approaches, how our irreverence can be subtle, and our kindness can be tough. And probably more than anything else, I love the intolerance of bullshit inherent to being a New Yorker. And that's why I am finding it so frustrating to see the gleeful, starry-eyed glorification of Zohran Mamdani, a person who glibly distorts facts, manipulates identity politics, and imports conflict like a commodity for political gain. Let me be very clear. This isn't about his faith, his ethnicity, his birthplace, the languages he speaks, or his code switching, all of which I have seen used in attacks against him. This is New York, a city that actually thrives on and embraces diversity. Those attacks are not even worth addressing. What I do find questionable, however, is the veracity of the words coming out of his mouth, regardless of the language or accent he is using at any given moment. That is the issue. His words belie a character that is performative, opportunistic, and deeply undemocratic. He is not a truthful voice of the marginalized, although this is exactly the story he has crafted to rise to power. Mamdani is a projection of an illiberal, anti-intellectual left-wing authoritarianism that has sunk its teeth into progressive politics. The kind of authoritarianism that makes me feel deeply pessimistic about the future of my party. One of the most striking examples of how Mamdani does this is his recent claim that there are no more Muslims left in Gujarat, India. This isn't just inaccurate or a gentle exaggeration to land a larger, more important point. It IS the point, and it is a deeply irresponsible falsehood. Gujarat is home to over 7 million Muslims today, nearly 10 percent of the state’s population. To put that in perspective, there are more Muslims in Gujarat than there are in the entire United States. Mamdani's lie isn’t accidental or something that can be dismissed. It is central to the larger fabrication of his own victimhood status in the world. Mamdani uses the false claim of Muslim “erasure” as supposed evidence that Narendra Modi committed ethnic cleansing of Muslims in the state. One lie props up the other. (I don't know why I have to talk about Modi in the context of NYC mayoral elections, but here we are.) Modi was investigated and cleared by India’s Supreme Court–appointed Special Investigation Team. To be clear, the violence in Gujarat was real and tragic. But it also began with the horrific killing of 59 Hindu pilgrims in Godhra, an inconvenient part of the story that Mamdani ignores entirely. Instead, he offers a selective, inflammatory version of events that erases facts, weaponizes suffering, and demonizes Hindus. Of course, every other "South Asian" that has risen to the top of progressive left American politics has more or less made the same false claims, so this doesn't raise any red flags. But no one else, as far as I know, has gone the extra fictional step by erasing over 7 million Muslims from Gujarat. Bear in mind, Mamdani's own father is Gujarati Muslim. Mamdani erased his own people for political expediency. With that charming twinkle in his eyes. You can see, immediately, how this gives him authority in a political landscape that equates narrated victimhood with authentic knowledge and insight. Exaggerated rhetoric becomes fact through repetition. And his victimhood story is premised upon erasure and silencing of inconvenient contexts. The maternal side of Mamdani's family tree is Hindu, and while he's free to practice whatever religion he wants, he never registers or acknowledges the very real oppression of Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh or Kashmir. If he is going to bring up religious-based conflict in "South Asia," why isn't he bringing any of this to the conversation? In fact, he openly dismisses any discussion of these facts. And if he’s willing to erase 7 million members of his own community of Gujarati Muslims for political expediency in New York, what does that mean for 200,000 Hindus living in New York? What does it mean for the 5 million Jews living here? Shouldn’t we all be concerned when a public figure casually erases entire communities to score rhetorical points? Mamdani's troubling track record is not limited to his lies about Gujarat. He has openly aligned with Khalistani separatists, a violent movement responsible for attacks on Hindu temples in North America and other horrific terrorist acts. Though it is cloaked in the language of liberation, Khalistan is not about civil rights. It is a geopolitical tool of destabilization, which has roots across the United States, including on college campuses. By sympathizing with its narratives, Mamdani has chosen to align himself with forces that openly target Hindus here in the United States. Doesn't that matter? I support liberal values that are rooted in truth. But what Mamdani represents is not liberalism or progress. It is a distortion and spectacle crafted to fit perfectly into the small maximalist tent that the progressive left has come to herald as "radical liberation from oppression." I find it very hard to take the moral grandstanding and admonitions of the American progressive left about critiques of Mamdani with even a grain seriousness when they seem to be either oblivious to Mamdani's blatant lies (in which case they're ignorant) or if they are not oblivious, it doesn't seem to matter to them (in which case they are unethical). This does not reflect a commitment to justice and truth-telling by Mamdani or the people who support him. This is something else entirely. It's very easy to reduce the critiques of Mamdani to racist, xenophobic ramblings of white, Christian supremacists. I'm not asking for him to be deported or questioning his integrity because of his religion or race. I question his integrity because he blatantly lies, and he blatantly lies because he will be rewarded for lying. His lies fit neatly into a narrative that he can ride to the mayor's office. The ease with which people are willing to reduce entire groups of New Yorkers to immoral actors, unless we acquiesce to their narrative about us, is the kind of bullshit that no real New Yorker would or should put up with. Nor should anyone who believes integrity still matters in public life. Moreover, a NYC mayoral campaign should not be a referendum on foreign conflicts, especially when people from all sides of those conflicts live here, work here, and raise families here. Yet Mamdani consistently brings international flashpoints into local politics, whether it’s Palestine or India, because his goal is to evoke a version of facts that paints him as the victim, because his goal is not the truth or justice, but a particular agenda that benefits from him being the victim. This is not the kind of leadership this city needs, regardless of ethnicity or religion, or immigration status. It is narrative manipulation masquerading as moral clarity, and it makes me nauseous. This is the danger of identity politics and the culture wars. They dampen critical thinking and replace honesty with posturing. They reward performance over principle, allegiance over integrity, and reductive meme-like narratives and slogans over complex facts that the average New Yorker can actually handle. In this landscape, truth becomes secondary to optics and there is a real cost, not just to the informed decision making of voters in a democracy, but to the lives and communities of New Yorkers erased and demonized n the process. And of course, the great irony in all of this is that I know by speaking out, I’ll be accused of being a mouthpiece for an imaginary Hindu supremacist movement that Mamdani and other "South Asians" have conveniently prepared as a way for you all to "legitimately" doubt me. Listen, I'd rather not talk about Indian politics or South Asia in the context of the New York City mayoral race. But somehow, the very act of asking for factual accuracy, viewpoint diversity, and just a shred of dignity when it comes to those conversations will be spun as evidence of how dangerous I am. If you are Hindu American and speak something other than the fixed narrative, you are suspect and possibly even a double agent. If you are Hindu American and stay silent, you are demonized by the narrative. Either way, the narrative remains intact. That is what makes what he and other "South Asians" on the progressive left are doing so profoundly illiberal and so profoundly undemocratic. So un New York. And if you're going to question my veracity because I am a Hindu American who refuses to say the "right thing," you can go kick rocks. I am an American and a New Yorker and I have a right to ask questions, to ask for receipts, to check sources, and to question what a candidate for public office is claiming. It is not just my right, it is my responsibility. It has been nauseating to be on social media this week. I haven’t felt this politically orphaned, socially isolated, or sickened in a very long time. To watch people I once admired as proponents of justice and fair-mindedness now cheer on a public figure who is so clearly performative, who so brazenly distorting and leveraging his manufactured victimhood is disheartening and isolating. What sickens me even more is that some people will read this and will still support him with full enthusiasm, as if he is a progressive messiah of truth and honor. Even some Hindu Americans. Even people who know the facts and say they care about things like truth, justice, and inclusion. It doesn’t seem to matter that Mamdani has been recorded using anti-Hindu slurs. It doesn’t seem to matter that he erases 7 million Muslims to fit his narrative. It doesn’t seem to matter that he ignores the persecution of Hindus, aligns with violent separatist rhetoric, and recycles dehumanizing tropes about entire groups of New Yorkers. His performance is too good. He has the look, the vibe, the story, the charisma. The narrative is too comforting, especially for the white guilt-ridden, identity-obsessed, New York Times-trusting crowd. His schtick is addictive and it is built upon an established landscape of factual distortion that started long before he arrived on the scene. I can see it all around me. Mamdani is just riding the wave. But don’t tell me his victory represents me in any way. I’d gladly take a white person who doesn’t lie about genocide over someone who vaguely shares my background but manipulates it so grotesquely. Representation without integrity and honor is nothing to celebrate. Hopefully, the rest of New York City will figure this out. We still have time to see through this and call bullshit. PS. While the topic of divestment is on the table, let's divest completely from petrodollars and see what happens to American institutions, "progressive" consensus, and political campaigns.