Delhi figured into the story of New York’s future on a cold January morning as Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as the city’s new mayor, invoking family roots that stretch from Kampala to the Indian capital while promising an ambitious, people-first vision for America’s largest city.
Standing outside City Hall before tens of thousands of supporters, Mamdani thanked his parents for bringing him to New York, name-checking family ties that run through Kampala and Delhi, and credited the city with shaping his life — from childhood scooter races to subway delays and late arrivals at Bronx Science.
“Thank you to my parents, Mama and Baba, for raising me, for teaching me how to be in this world, and for having brought me to this city. Thank you to my family, from Kampala to Delhi. And thank you to my wife, Rama, for being my best friend, and for always showing me the beauty in everyday things.”
New York, he said, is a place where cultures collide and coexist, where a Muslim kid can grow up eating bagels and lox.
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He framed his inauguration not as a personal triumph but as a collective moment for “eight and a half million New Yorkers.” He spoke to those gathered in Lower Manhattan and to others watching from kitchens, hospitals, taxis and barbershops across the five boroughs, insisting that City Hall would no longer belong to “the wealthy and well-connected,” but to everyone who calls the city home.
Politically, Mamdani rejected calls for modest expectations. Declaring himself unapologetically a democratic socialist, he promised expansive government action: freezing rents for stabilized apartments, delivering universal child care funded by taxing the wealthy, making buses fast and free, and confronting corporate greed. “No longer will City Hall hesitate to use its power,” he said.
He also challenged New Yorkers to stay engaged, arguing that victory at the ballot box was only the beginning. What happens in New York, Mamdani said, will be watched far beyond the five boroughs. From Delhi to downtown Manhattan, he suggested, the world is waiting to see whether a city that belongs to its people can set an example worth following.
