Sanjay Parate
The Statue of Liberty, standing before New York Harbor, is announcing the defeat of Trumpian America. Zohran Mamdani's victory in the New York mayoral election also announces the defeat of Modiian India, as Mamdani's campaign included criticism of Trump's childhood friend Modi. Now, both Modi and Trump are in a state of coma, as this has dealt a severe blow to their racist politics of spreading hatred in the name of nationalism. Mamdani's victory has become an international phenomenon.
Trump and Modi are two sides of the same coin. Both advocate neoliberal corporate policies. One is a pure imperialist, the other a born bootlicker. One is pre-occupied with transforming his country into a white-Christian nation, the other is bent on transforming it into a Manu-based Hindu nation. Both are vehemently anti-communist and anti-Muslim. Both are bent on dismantling their country's democratic structure and lofty capitalist values, imposing an "elected dictatorship" and turning citizens into "obedient subjects." But both are facing challenges from their own people. In such a situation, if Mamdani, who calls himself a leftist, is Muslim by birth, and has been American citizenship for barely seven years, is elected by the people with an overwhelming majority, and quotes Jawaharlal Nehru in his very first speech after his election, both are bound to collapse. Mamdani's victory is a declaration that the American public is now decisively standing up against Trump's policies, just as the BJP losing its absolute majority in the Lok Sabha elections in India and forming the government with the support of two crutches is a declaration that Indian citizens are standing up against the policies of the BJP-RSS and Modi.
Whenever an Indian-origin wins anywhere in the world, the BJP camp and the Sanghi gang jump around, chanting "Bharat Mata ki Jai." We saw a similar scenario when Rishi Sunak became British Prime Minister. In reality, such a victory had no connection to India, nor did it benefit India. Instead, this hopping around is done to incite nationalist frenzy in the name of an Indian. However, there was no chance for the BJP to capitalize on Mamdani's victory, as Mamdani has a history of standing firmly against racist nationalism and fighting for the poor and the vulnerable. It was Mamdani who recognized America's housing crisis for what it was, understanding that the true root of this crisis was the greed for corporate profits and a racist mindset against Black people. Before becoming Mayor of New York, he served as a member of the New York State Assembly, and as a legislator, he fought for the people. It was Mamdani who joined taxi drivers on a hunger strike, securing them debt relief of over US$450 million. It was Mamdani whose struggle forced New York State to allocate over US$100 million in the state budget for increased subway service and a fare-free bus system. It was Mamdani who, through public mobilization, successfully stopped a polluting power plant proposed in New York. These struggles directly harmed corporate profits. Such a Mamdani was bound to upset both Trump and Modi.
In the recent past, there has been no leader in the Democratic Party who has been as forged by the fire of struggle as he has. He represented the left wing within the Democratic Party and won the Democratic Party's nomination by defeating former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who represented the right wing. Cuomo later ran for the New York mayoral election as an independent candidate. It was Mamdani who openly supported the Palestinian liberation struggle against Trump's policies, leading Trump to accuse him of anti-Semitism, openly appeal for his defeat, and to support Cuomo. However, Mamdani was elected, defeating both Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, garnering the support of more than half of New York's population. Therefore, Mamdani's victory also marks a defeat for Trump's pro-Israel stance.
Mamdani's election campaign and his demands stemmed from his struggles. He campaigned on demands such as providing New Yorkers with stable housing at rents, building a world-class public transportation system, providing free childcare, and operating affordable stores to combat inflation. These demands are consistent with a welfare state, but contradict neoliberal policies, which prioritize profit over public welfare. Since Trump's rise to power, the struggle between public welfare and corporate profit has intensified. Mamdani's victory is a manifestation of this struggle. This is why Trump, upset by Mamdani's victory, is now threatening to withhold funding from New York. Mamdani has also explicitly proposed raising taxes on the wealthy to fund public welfare. Clearly, as Trump seeks to destroy liberal, democratic America, his conflict with a left-leaning alternative is only going to escalate.
In the parlance of the Sanghi clique, 34-year-old Mamdani is a child of love jihad : the son of a Muslim father and a Hindu mother, both espousing a progressive and modern outlook. His father is a renowned academic, and his mother a renowned film director. Mira Nair, who has directed several important films like Salaam Bombay, Mississippi Masala, and Monsoon Wedding, has been a target of the Sanghi clique for her films, is well known in India. Mamdani has proven to be a person who carries forward this cultural legacy. He is a Muslim, a leftist, an Indian, and a devout American citizen. Above all, he possesses the supreme human qualities that are characteristic of any leftist or communist. The politics of his campaign emphasized the clear distinction between Hinduism and Hindutva, and Jews and Judaism. In the process, he did not shy away from targeting Modi and Netanyahu. It was no accident that Mamdani quoted Jawaharlal Nehru at his victory celebrations: "Occasionally, a moment comes in history when we step from the old to the new, when an era ends and when the long-suppressed soul of a nation finds expression. We have stepped from the old to the new."
The first line of Marx's Communist Manifesto is, "Europe is haunted by a specter—the specter of communism." The fear of this specter has now become global. Sometimes it appears in the form of Che Guevara, sometimes in the form of Zohran Mamdani. Whether it's Zohran Mamdani or someone else, if they declare a "step from the old to the new," such global citizens can only be a threat to both Trump and Modi. But Mamdani's victory is encouraging people around the world who are struggling to build a just, equal, and opportunity-filled world.
The Statue of Liberty, standing in New York, smiles. The statue's pedestal is engraved with a poem by Emma Lazarus: "The New Colossus." The poem concludes with these famous lines: "Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, / The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. / Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, / I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Mamdani's victory has lit the lamp of struggle against Trumpism in the coming days ; the doors of the golden gate have opened.
The author is an independent writer on politics, social and agrarian issues. The views are personal.
Trump and Modi are two sides of the same coin. Both advocate neoliberal corporate policies. One is a pure imperialist, the other a born bootlicker. One is pre-occupied with transforming his country into a white-Christian nation, the other is bent on transforming it into a Manu-based Hindu nation. Both are vehemently anti-communist and anti-Muslim. Both are bent on dismantling their country's democratic structure and lofty capitalist values, imposing an "elected dictatorship" and turning citizens into "obedient subjects." But both are facing challenges from their own people. In such a situation, if Mamdani, who calls himself a leftist, is Muslim by birth, and has been American citizenship for barely seven years, is elected by the people with an overwhelming majority, and quotes Jawaharlal Nehru in his very first speech after his election, both are bound to collapse. Mamdani's victory is a declaration that the American public is now decisively standing up against Trump's policies, just as the BJP losing its absolute majority in the Lok Sabha elections in India and forming the government with the support of two crutches is a declaration that Indian citizens are standing up against the policies of the BJP-RSS and Modi.
Whenever an Indian-origin wins anywhere in the world, the BJP camp and the Sanghi gang jump around, chanting "Bharat Mata ki Jai." We saw a similar scenario when Rishi Sunak became British Prime Minister. In reality, such a victory had no connection to India, nor did it benefit India. Instead, this hopping around is done to incite nationalist frenzy in the name of an Indian. However, there was no chance for the BJP to capitalize on Mamdani's victory, as Mamdani has a history of standing firmly against racist nationalism and fighting for the poor and the vulnerable. It was Mamdani who recognized America's housing crisis for what it was, understanding that the true root of this crisis was the greed for corporate profits and a racist mindset against Black people. Before becoming Mayor of New York, he served as a member of the New York State Assembly, and as a legislator, he fought for the people. It was Mamdani who joined taxi drivers on a hunger strike, securing them debt relief of over US$450 million. It was Mamdani whose struggle forced New York State to allocate over US$100 million in the state budget for increased subway service and a fare-free bus system. It was Mamdani who, through public mobilization, successfully stopped a polluting power plant proposed in New York. These struggles directly harmed corporate profits. Such a Mamdani was bound to upset both Trump and Modi.
In the recent past, there has been no leader in the Democratic Party who has been as forged by the fire of struggle as he has. He represented the left wing within the Democratic Party and won the Democratic Party's nomination by defeating former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who represented the right wing. Cuomo later ran for the New York mayoral election as an independent candidate. It was Mamdani who openly supported the Palestinian liberation struggle against Trump's policies, leading Trump to accuse him of anti-Semitism, openly appeal for his defeat, and to support Cuomo. However, Mamdani was elected, defeating both Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, garnering the support of more than half of New York's population. Therefore, Mamdani's victory also marks a defeat for Trump's pro-Israel stance.
Mamdani's election campaign and his demands stemmed from his struggles. He campaigned on demands such as providing New Yorkers with stable housing at rents, building a world-class public transportation system, providing free childcare, and operating affordable stores to combat inflation. These demands are consistent with a welfare state, but contradict neoliberal policies, which prioritize profit over public welfare. Since Trump's rise to power, the struggle between public welfare and corporate profit has intensified. Mamdani's victory is a manifestation of this struggle. This is why Trump, upset by Mamdani's victory, is now threatening to withhold funding from New York. Mamdani has also explicitly proposed raising taxes on the wealthy to fund public welfare. Clearly, as Trump seeks to destroy liberal, democratic America, his conflict with a left-leaning alternative is only going to escalate.
In the parlance of the Sanghi clique, 34-year-old Mamdani is a child of love jihad : the son of a Muslim father and a Hindu mother, both espousing a progressive and modern outlook. His father is a renowned academic, and his mother a renowned film director. Mira Nair, who has directed several important films like Salaam Bombay, Mississippi Masala, and Monsoon Wedding, has been a target of the Sanghi clique for her films, is well known in India. Mamdani has proven to be a person who carries forward this cultural legacy. He is a Muslim, a leftist, an Indian, and a devout American citizen. Above all, he possesses the supreme human qualities that are characteristic of any leftist or communist. The politics of his campaign emphasized the clear distinction between Hinduism and Hindutva, and Jews and Judaism. In the process, he did not shy away from targeting Modi and Netanyahu. It was no accident that Mamdani quoted Jawaharlal Nehru at his victory celebrations: "Occasionally, a moment comes in history when we step from the old to the new, when an era ends and when the long-suppressed soul of a nation finds expression. We have stepped from the old to the new."
The first line of Marx's Communist Manifesto is, "Europe is haunted by a specter—the specter of communism." The fear of this specter has now become global. Sometimes it appears in the form of Che Guevara, sometimes in the form of Zohran Mamdani. Whether it's Zohran Mamdani or someone else, if they declare a "step from the old to the new," such global citizens can only be a threat to both Trump and Modi. But Mamdani's victory is encouraging people around the world who are struggling to build a just, equal, and opportunity-filled world.
The Statue of Liberty, standing in New York, smiles. The statue's pedestal is engraved with a poem by Emma Lazarus: "The New Colossus." The poem concludes with these famous lines: "Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, / The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. / Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, / I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Mamdani's victory has lit the lamp of struggle against Trumpism in the coming days ; the doors of the golden gate have opened.
The author is an independent writer on politics, social and agrarian issues. The views are personal.
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