What Does Zohran Mamdani’s Victory Mean for Indian Muslims?

 

                                              Zohran Mamdani with his family                                                                          

Zohran Mamdani’s Victory in New York Echoes Far Beyond Its Borders

 

The phrase “Hawa Badal Rahi Hai” (The wind is changing) shows that people feel a big change is about to happen. This change is as desirable as dew, as vital as a drop of water in a desert. For many, this change was embodied in the symbolic victory of Zohran Mamdani, who, on November 4th, 2025, was projected to become the first Muslim mayor of New York City. As the son of Indian parents from Uganda, his win was celebrated not just as a personal achievement, but as a progressive milestone.

Mamdani’s win carries deep meaning for the oppressed. It wasn’t just an electoral victory—it was a statement of solidarity. His campaign stood with the Palestinian struggle and condemned the ongoing massacres under Netanyahu’s government in Israel. What made his win even more powerful was that around 33% of Jewish voters supported him, breaking the myth that all Jewish people back Netanyahu’s violent and exclusionary politics. His victory reminded the world that justice, empathy, and dissent still have a place, even when the dominant voices try to drown them out.

The Indian Muslims’ Emotional Chord

 

For India, Mamdani’s win strikes a particularly emotional chord. His words have often reflected the pain and injustice felt by the Muslim community after the 2019 Supreme Court verdict on the Babri Masjid, which not only stripped them of dignity but also wounded their sense of belonging. He has courageously questioned the credibility of institutions like the Supreme Court, which, instead of upholding justice, at times appear swayed by political pressures—one judge even claimed that “divine power” guided him in writing the 2019 verdict that awarded the land for building the Ram temple in Ayodhya. When Mamdani invokes Nehru’s ideals and his vision of a plural and inclusive India, it feels like a poignant reminder of a dream slowly fading—buried beneath the din of Hindutva and the hollow pride of majoritarian politics.

His victory, in that sense, lights a small but steady flame of hope for the oppressed everywhere—and especially for Indian Muslims who live daily with marginalization, suspicion, and hate. To understand what this moment meant to people, I spoke with some elderly Muslim men in Old Delhi’s Bara Hindu Rao area, during my fieldwork on the socio-economic conditions of Muslims in Delhi. One of them, Mr. Hussain, reflected with quiet conviction:

“Janab, this win lights a spark of hope. It shows that love can win, that humanity still speaks loud, and that standing for what’s right still matters. Success may be rare when truth is harsh, but this feels like a victory of conscience. It doesn’t end our struggles—our exploitation, pain, or the hatred we face—but it feels good. If it can happen in America, maybe it can happen here too.”

But Mr. Hussain’s friend responded with a sarcastic remark, expressing deep skepticism about any real change. He said,

“If Mamdani’s father had lived in India, he would probably have been charged under the so-called love jihad laws—falsely accused of forcing Islam on his wife and son—and would have spent his life trying to prove his innocence against anti-conversion allegations. In that case, there would have been no Mamdani at all. Can’t you see the “hashr” (dire condition) of people like Umar Khalid, Gulfisha Fatima, and Sharjeel Imam? Even Najeeb’s disappearance from JNU is proof enough that real change is far from imminent.”

But Mr. Hussain words stayed with me. They carried both hope and sadness—the hope of change, and the sadness of knowing how far we are from it. In India today, opposition voices like Rahul Gandhi keep warning about the “bombs” of election theft, accusing even the Election Commission of complicity. If our institutions are this weak, how can they protect the people’s real votes? In such a climate, where anyone who disagrees with the BJP-RSS ideology becomes an easy target, where Muslims are routinely scapegoated, how can we still speak of democracy and diversity with pride?

How can a society celebrate equality when it quietly enjoys the suffering of others—when people laugh as they say, “Abdul ki chudi tight ho rahi hai,” delighting in the humiliation of Muslims? What kind of freedom is this, and what kind of democracy survives when cruelty becomes entertainment and silence becomes consent?

When these questions were put to the elderly man, he remained composed and replied

“I feel the change anyway, even with these problems. I’m hopeful. If it happens in America, it will happen in India too”.

JNU Election and Vote Theft in Indian Election

 

                                                                                                                  JNU Election, November 2025

He reflected that

“There is still reason to hope—and one sign of that hope came from the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student elections recent result, where Left-wing students won every seat, and the ABVP, backed by the RSS, suffered a complete defeat”.

He went on to note that

JNU has long been treated as a testing ground for the RSS’s Hindutva politics, especially through its student wing, the ABVP. For the ABVP, every victory there symbolized more than just a campus win—it was a step toward legitimizing their ideology nationwide. JNU, after all, mirrors India’s diversity in miniature; losing that ground, therefore, signals something deeper—a quiet but powerful resistance to the majoritarian narrative.

The elderly Muslim man’s steady hope of change seems to me like his belief in Almighty. 

Does this mean JNU represents a battleground where success reflects what India truly wants? If yes, then why don’t we see similar results across the country?

At this point, it is important to note that JNU elections are conducted entirely by students. They use paper ballots, and the process is transparent—no manipulation, no cheating. In contrast, across India, Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly raised concerns before the national media about large-scale vote theft. Yet, there has been no investigation, no suo motu action from the Supreme Court—raising serious questions about the integrity of India’s institutions and democracy, now on display before the world.

Instances of such irregularities include wrongful deletions from voter lists in Bihar, disproportionately affecting marginalized and Muslim voters. A major cut in Muslim votes in the Seemanchal region, in Bihar has been reported. Similarly, allegations of vote theft emerged from places like Mahadevapura during the Karnataka state elections—claims that Rahul Gandhi brought to light. In Haryana too, he described the verdict as “stolen,” alleging fake votes—“one in eight,” he said. Despite these warnings, there remains a troubling silence. This suggests that India’s election outcomes do not always mirror its true diversity or the people’s mandate. Votes appear to be “made” to fit a narrative that benefits the ruling BJP.

Glimpse of Hope: Rahul Gandhi’s Mohabbat ki Dukan

 

Congress Party’s poster highlights Rahul Gandhi’s message of choosing love over hate.

Yet, amid this bleak picture, there remains a faint glimmer of hope. The very exposure of electoral theft signals that all is not lost—it reveals that the present mandate does not truly mirror India. It means the country has not yet surrendered entirely to hatred or distortion. Injustice, no matter how entrenched, cannot endure forever. Sooner or later, people will find the courage to question, to resist, and to reclaim the secular, rational, and fraternal spirit that once defined India. These revelations, in their own quiet way, reassure us that diversity, coexistence, and love still survive beneath the surface.

This hope also finds expression in Rahul Gandhi’s vision of a “shop of love,” Mohabbat ki Dukan, a metaphor that captures his larger political mission. Long before others, India had its own “Mamdani”—a fearless voice who consistently spoke out against the politics of hate and the discriminatory, assimilationist agenda promoted by the RSS and its political arm, the BJP, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi since 2014. Unlike the Hindutva ideology that seeks to redefine India as a Hindu Rashtra—a state meant exclusively for Hindus across the world and inspired by Israel’s ethno-nationalist model that defines itself as the homeland of Jews—Rahul Gandhi’s politics firmly rejects such exclusivism. His vision stands in sharp contrast to it. He upholds and celebrates India’s pluralism, envisioning a nation where diversity is not merely tolerated but allowed to genuinely flourish.

When once asked about Rahul Gandhi marriage during his campaign for Bihar state election, he replied that he would do so “once his work is done” (The Economics Times, 2025). That “work,” as I understand it, is the effort to restore the integrity of India’s institutions and to rekindle the flower of diversity. India needs that mission to continue—because true change has not yet arrived. It requires strong and honest institutions, now under strain, and voices like Rahul Gandhi’s not just in every state, but in every district, to revive hope and safeguard the democratic soul of India. The 2025 Bihar state election will be a test of whether the phrase “Hawa Badal Rahi Hai” truly holds meaning—or whether it marks the victory of compromised and corrupt institutions that continue to feed on India’s democracy like parasites.

Reference:

The Economics Times (2025): Rahul Gandhi told me ‘will marry once my work is done’, claims young Bihar vlogger – The Economic Times, November 6, 2025

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2 thoughts on “What Does Zohran Mamdani’s Victory Mean for Indian Muslims?”

  1. Raju Srivastava

    This article is really powerful and beautifully written. I liked how you showed both the pain and the hope that people still carry in their hearts. The part with the elderly men in Old Delhi was very touching and real.

    Thank you for writing this with so much honesty and care. It reminds us that even in difficult times, hope, love, and truth still matter. Please keep sharing more articles like this. 🌿

    Reply
  2. Rohan Verma, Stanford University's

    Such a thoughtful article! Gives me hope that one day, India too will celebrate truth and justice — right after it finishes counting fake votes and arresting dissenters. 😅

    Reply

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