The main trigger for this rumination is a comment that in Zohran Mamdani’s epic victory in the recent New York mayoral race, the anti-Hindutva forces in our backyard visualise the beginning of the end of the Modi era, “even though the Mamdani episode has happened more than 8,000 miles away”.

Short of walking on water, every conceivable competency and virtue has been conferred on the 34-year-old political greenhorn who has taken the world by storm. His irresistible charm, transparent goodness, intellect and passion have won him devotees across the social spectrum. His youthful idealism has broken the mould of the archetypal dysfunctional politicians fixated on the unjust status quo – the Chuck Schumers, Andrew Cuomos, Lindsay Grahams.

His politics with a moral purpose focussed on affordability and working people’s concerns has even called out the pussy-footed, ‘more of the same’ brand of politics of centrist democrats like Barack Obama, who did not endorse Mamdani but hedged his bets, belatedly calling him up in a lukewarm show of support.

Also read: Zohran Mamdani's Hindu Heritage and the Campaign for Hindu Votes

Zohran’s audacious gambit of bearding the devil in his own den reminded us, by its stark contrast, of our Vishwaguru’s terror-stricken dodge of US President Donald Trump – to the extent that the inveterate globe-trotter even sacrificed international jaunts to escape a meeting with “my friend Doland”.

Running scared, Modi dared not confront Trump for insisting that he halted the Indo-Pak war by threatening 350% tariffs. He sidestepped Trump’s impromptu invitation to the White House in June at the time the Pakistan Army Chief was visiting. He passed over an invitation to attend the Gaza peace summit in Egypt and skipped the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur because Trump would be there. According to a German news outlet, Modi has repeatedly refused to take calls from Trump.

Modi’s coyness has cost India, with 50% tariffs still in place even as China and other countries have managed to win concessions through dialogue at the highest levels. While Indo-US relations are strained, our bete noire, Pakistan, has become a close buddy of the USA and Trump is cosying up to Xi Jinping, planning a visit to China next year.

Meanwhile, the much-anticipated fireworks at the Mamdani-Trump meeting on 21st November turned out to be a love-fest with nary a false note. It was surreal to see David and Goliath bond in the way they did, expressing their shared love of New York City and the need to build more housing and lower crime.

From calling Mamdani “a 100 per cent communist lunatic”, Trump now referred to him as “a rational person... and I expect to be helping him, not hurting him”.

Mamdani displayed uncanny political savvy by focussing not on the areas of difference but on their shared desire to serve and better the lives of New Yorkers. Trump, another disruptor of the status quo, has understood that Mamdani speaks and acts for his people and they support him.

As pointed out by the New York Times, Mamdani received much greater warmth and goodwill from Trump than he could ever have received from the democratic party biggies.

Clearly Zohran Mamdani is the next big thing in America, a remarkable achievement considering that his political philosophy is so radically different from the capitalist-libertarian ethic and fanatically pro-Israel disposition of the ruling elite. He believes that billionaires shouldn’t exist and the rich should be taxed commensurate with their wealth.

In a country where both parties and majority public opinion support Israel and the Zionist cause, Mamdani has been unapologetically pro-Palestinian, stating that he cannot support Israel so long as it is an officially Jewish state, accusing Israel of committing genocide and vowing to arrest Netanyahu if he sets foot in New York. In a letter circulated before the election, 1,100 rabbis cited Mamdani by name and warned that the safety and dignity of Jews depended on electing candidates who accept Israel as a cornerstone of Jewish identity.

He dug in with his anti-Israel activism despite the blowback, and yet he won over one in five Jewish democrats, deeply influenced by his passionate and reasoned opposition to the genocidal Israel government, bigotry and hate. He has relentlessly backed the helpless migrants, even angrily confronting the dreaded Tom Homan and referring to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) as “a rogue government entity”, thereby demonstrating that certain human values transcend political calculations. His is a politics with a strong moral core.

Would a Zohran Mamdani make it in India? On the face of it, Mamdani has all the attributes needed to be an unmitigated success. Genetically, he is as Indian as anybody – the son of a Gujarati father and a Punjabi mother, both leaders in their respective fields of academics and film direction. Take his ideology: he is a fervent believer in democratic socialism, a doctrine that is inscribed in the preamble of our constitution. His easy charm and smashing good looks would give our film celebrities a run for their money. His commitment to working people’s concerns and affordability are what our politicians promise at election time but rarely deliver.

Mamdani’s people-centric concerns have drawn comparisons with the politics of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), but that is an odious equivalence. Though it may sound like a contradiction in terms, he is a pragmatic idealist who doesn’t react with his heart but with his brain. He is the epitome of pluralism – in upbringing, thought and action, a far cry from the bush-shirted Machiavellian AAP leader, who went missing during the northeast Delhi pogrom in 2020 for fear of antagonising the majority community.

On all counts, Zohran Mamdani is the kind of politician this country desperately needs.

Also read: What Zohran Mamdani Teaches the Indian Political Discourse

But hold on! There’s an everlasting stigma attached to him – he is Muslim and this is no country for a Muslim! Out here, hate crimes against Muslims – lynching, bulldozing, social ostracism, housing apartheid, incendiary rhetoric – have been normalised, even valorised. Starting with Gujarat 2002, the poster boy of Hindutva has consolidated power by bashing Muslims. His imprimatur is unmistakeable in the deviant, anti-minority bigotry being freely practised in the public square.

Cocking a snook at our constitution, that guarantees the rights of minorities to lead a life of dignity and equality, iniquitous laws such as the Citizenship Amendment Act, Uniform Civil Code, the anti-conversion laws, et al, have been passed to ensure the inexorable marginalisation and exclusion of Muslims.

Umar Khalid and myriad others are victims of a blatantly unfair justice system. Although Muslims constitute 14.2% (200 million) of the population, they are an insignificant presence in the political sphere, represented by a mere 26 members in a 788-member parliament, a stark reflection of the deliberate sidelining of Muslims by political parties.

The Islamophobia in America is almost benign by comparison. Hey, Zohran, you invoked the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi while taking on the might of racist America and fighting for the dispossessed, “turning the page on a politics that abandons the many and answers only to the few”. You quoted Nehru’s immortal ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech, which was interpreted by some hopeful souls as a call for India and its diaspora to make a new beginning, like America has!

Perish the thought! In today’s India, your heroes and their ideals have been forgotten, supplanted by gross Hindutva icons. Whatever your talent, skills and worthiness, there’s no place for the likes of you in our benighted land because You Are Muslim!

The writer is a former civil servant. The views are personal.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.