Farrukh Dhondy | If Zohran, a ‘Real Socialist’, Becomes New York’s Mayor, What’ll India Say?
Have due regard For Sheherazade Who knew life and love were her rights So, she invented The Arabian Nights…” From The Sangeet of Deliketa Sen Tr. from Bengali by Bachchoo
Up until recently, gentle reader, I was deeply sceptical about politicians of Indian heritage who came to the West via Africa. Perhaps scepticism is not the right word, as I was determinedly against their worldview, their avowed extreme right-wing policies, their hypocrisy, their opportunistic dealings and even their exploitation of the nasty end of capitalism. The gambling that Hedge-fundwallas like Hedgie Sunak earn their millions from.
As for the other factors, think only of Suella Braverman and Pritti Patel, both of immigrant descent themselves -- but then as Tory MPs and ministers in Tory Cabinets advocated extreme policies about flying asylum seekers from vicious regimes (Idi Amin anyone?) to Rwanda. That’s just the tip of it.
They were all Brexiteers, again on the grounds of keeping Johnny foreigner from these shores. Patel’s dad was even a parliamentary candidate for the right-wing UKIP party of Nigel Farage, which has now segued into a party calling itself Reform. Of course, daughters shouldn’t be tarred with the reverse swastikality of their dads, though I wouldn’t be at all surprised if both Cruella and Ugly were to abandon the Tories and then opportunistically join Reform.
There are certainly indications that they are that way inclined.
It’s tempting, but intellectually lazy to label Reform as “extreme right-wing”. They are more ardently “nationalist” and pander to populist prejudices of the type of voter who would wear caps with the slogan MBGA or some such, their main platform being violently anti-asylum seekers (though they seem to welcome rich, contributing Asian immigrants already here)!
I suppose a more accurate description would be some word which combines nationalism with socialism -- now what would that be?
And so, gentle reader, to my opening contention in which I said “Up until recently…” So why am I excited? A change! Not in this country, but in far-away Trumpistan. Step forward, Zohran Mamdani, Democratic candidate for the mayor of New York in the forthcoming November elections.
He is now the official Democratic candidate, forcing the present Democratic mayor, Eric Adams, to quit the Democratic Party and announce his intention to stand as an Independent.
Zohran has openly declared his socialist policies and intentions. He calls his intended programme “real socialism”.
This includes free bus transport, provision of free childcare, a freezing of rents which have shot up in the last years to unaffordable levels for millions, subsidised house-building and even nationalised government-run grocery stores -- a pledge to keep prices of food and life’s necessities at an affordable level.
No doubt this programme will cost billions of dollars but Zohran Mamdani’s publicised plan, which could even contribute to his popularity and election, is that the money will come from higher and fairer taxes on the wealthiest businesses and New York’s billionaires.
Yes, real socialism.
The best endorsement for Zohran’s campaign came from the Orange cry-baby himself. On the social media platform Truth Social, Donald Chump denounced Zohran as a “100 per cent Communist lunatic”. On the principle of double negatives, New York voters, who as traditional Democrats, will perhaps see that as a positive endorsement of their candidate.
Forgive me now, gentle reader, for getting personal. I have been made aware that my grand-nephew Alejandro Bhasin is part of the enthusiastic Zohran campaign and is working with it to get his message and intentions across to New Yorkers.
Hey, that’s not even the beginning of the “personal”. I have never met Zohran, but know both his parents -- his mother as a friend and his father Mahmood as a comrade in international socialistic views. I can boast that Mira Nair, Zohran’s mum, the unique and decorated film-maker, started her professional career when I, working at the time as a commissioning editor at UK’s Channel Four TV, commissioned her to make a documentary on Mumbai’s dance-girls.
It worked wonderfully and Mira went on to triumphantly make Salaam Bombay and then Mississippi Masala for Channel Four -- the first one winning a prestigious award at Cannes and then being nominated for an Oscar.
But that’s enough about his mum.
Zohran’s father, Mahmood Mamdani, a distinguished academic who has taught in several universities in southern Africa and was expelled as an Asian from Uganda by Idi Amin, came to the UK and we met through the political activist circles. Mahmood was/is a very practical socialist (Marxist!) thinker and one needn’t wonder where Zohran got his orientation from.
It’s true that Democratic nominees constantly win New York, but in this case, two ex-Democrat politicians of the Big Apple are standing as Independents against Zohran. The first, as mentioned above, is the present de-selected mayor and the other is Andrew Cuomo, the ex-governor of New York state who resigned in 2021 over several allegations of sexual assault.
Then there’s the fact that at the last general election, the MAGAwallahs had increased the Republican vote by seven percent. Will that be a swing factor in November?
Oh, hang on. Did I say that Zohran was a Muslim immigrant from Uganda who moved to New York when he was seven years old? True!
The Indian government and chappateratti always congratulate Indian-origin diasporic politicians -- Hedgie Sunak, Leo Varadkar -- on their triumphs. What will India say when Zohran wins?