Zohran Mamdani's Good Family

 Extended Family,

  Many of us have become curious about who Zohran Mamdani is as a human being, and where his 34 years of life have carried him, and what company he has kept in that time.  The basic facts are readily available, and Wikipedia has biographies of his academic Anthropologist/Historian father and movie-director mother, who are Muslim and Hindu members of the Indian diaspora. His wife is a Muslim US-born Syrian from Houston. All of them share a core anti-colonialist value system.

  Zohran's work in public service appears to have been sincere public service to the poor. He has considered himself privileged, as he "never wanted for anything".

​  What does a ‘socialist’ in charge of New York really mean?​  (Thanks Wiggs.)
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is hated both by Republicans and his own fellow Democrats because he wants to bring change. But can he?

​  What makes Mamdani’s victory significant is that he is a self-styled “democratic socialist” who was elected mayor without being endorsed by the Democratic Party leadership – most of whom, including Chuck Schumer, minority Senate leader from New York, refused to endorse him at all.
  Mamdani is an intelligent, 34-year-old Muslim of Indian heritage who was born in Uganda. His father is a prominent black studies academic and his mother is an acclaimed filmmaker.
  Mamdani, a former celebrity rapper, social worker and state assemblyman, ran on a left-wing populist program that focused almost exclusively on alleviating cost-of-living pressures for ordinary New Yorkers – especially young New Yorkers. He promised to deliver rent freezes, free public transport, free childcare, city-owned grocery stores and universal health care. He also promised to build 200,000 affordable new houses with union labor.
​  Whether Mamdani can actually implement this program is by no means clear – New York city is $5 billion in debt, and the New York state government and governor can severely limit what a New York mayor can do.
​  Mamdami is a strong critic of America’s support for the Netanyahu and Zelensky regimes, and has stated explicitly that he would fund his reforms by increasing taxes on New-York-based large corporations and the ultra-rich that control them.
​  Mamdani’s program is a pragmatic social democratic one – that contrasts starkly with the MAGA populist agenda, which is based on magical thinking, demonizing America’s supposed internal enemies and leaving America’s economic structure and widening inequalities of wealth completely intact.​..

​..Some left-wing commentators – as does Mamdani himself – have seen Mamdani’s rapid political ascendency as the harbinger of a radical transformation of the Democratic Party – into a party that is, as it once was, focused on representing the traditional working class and other groups in American society that have been economically pauperized and culturally alienated by globalization.
​  Right-wing commentators have branded Mumdani a “communist,” “terrorist sympathiser” and anti-Semite, and see him as a dangerous threat to American society.
​  Both of these views are, however, fundamentally mistaken. Mandami is a perculiarly New York phenomenon.​   https://www.rt.com/news/627430-new-york-mayor-socialist/

​  Anti-Zionism: The Debate That Changed Everything
The defining moment of the campaign arrived in early June, when Mamdani’s debate performance electrified the city.  He articulated his anti-Zionist position — opposition to the political ideology of Zionism’s influence on U.S. foreign policy, not opposition to Israel or to Jewish identity — with unusual moral clarity. By separating criticism of a state from prejudice against a people, Mamdani broke a political taboo and invited honest debate.

​  That distinction resonated widely, even among segments of New York’s Jewish community, including the Hasidic voters, who saw in him a man of principle rather than opportunism. The debate redefined him overnight — from activist to statesman — and his commanding victory in the June Democratic primary confirmed that a new political language had found its audience.​   https://www.defenddemocracy.press/zohran-mamdani-and-the-revolt-against-the-neo-feudal-order/

​  Wikipedia: Zohran Kwame Mamdani[c] (born October 18, 1991) is an American politician who is the current mayor-elect of New York City. A member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, he has served as a member of the New York State Assembly from the 36th district since 2021, representing the Queens neighborhood of Astoria.
  Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, to academic Mahmood Mamdani and filmmaker Mira Nair, both of whom are of Indian descent. The family moved to Cape Town, South Africa, when Mamdani was five years old. When he was seven, they moved to the United States, settling in New York City. Mamdani graduated from the Bronx High School of Science. He received a bachelor's degree with a major in Africana studies from Bowdoin College in Maine in 2014.
  After working as a housing counselor and musician, Mamdani entered local New York City politics as a campaign manager for Khader El-Yateem and Ross Barkan. He was first elected to the New York State Assembly in 2020, defeating five-term incumbent Aravella Simotas in the Democratic primary. Representing Astoria, Queens, he was reelected without opposition in 2022 and 2024.
  In October 2024, Mamdani announced his candidacy for mayor of New York City in the 2025 election. In June 2025, Mamdani won the Democratic primary in an upset victory over Andrew Cuomo, former governor of the state. He was elected mayor in the November 4 general election against Cuomo, who ran as an independent, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, with 50.4% of the vote.
  Mamdani campaigned on an affordability-focused platform in support of fare-free city buses, universal public child care, city-owned grocery stores, a rent freeze on rent-stabilized units, additional affordable housing units, and a $30 minimum wage by 2030; he additionally expressed support for LGBTQ rights, comprehensive public safety reform, and tax increases on corporations and those earning above $1 million annually...

​..The family moved to the United States and settled in New York City when Mamdani was seven, and he was raised in Morningside Heights.​ He has described his upbringing as "privileged", saying, "I never had to want for something, and yet I knew that was not in any way the reality for most New Yorkers."​ As a child, he was often present on his mother's film sets.​..

..Before running for office, Mamdani worked as a foreclosure prevention and housing counselor. There, he assisted lower-income immigrant homeowners in Queens with eviction notices and efforts to remain in their homes. He said the experience motivated him to run for office to address the housing and affordability crisis.​   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zohran_Mamdani

​  Wikipedia: Rama Sawaf Duwaji (Arabic: راما صواف دوجي; born June 30, 1997) is an American animator, illustrator, and ceramist. Throughout her career, her illustrations have been featured in The New Yorker and The Washington Post, as well as at BBC, Apple, and Tate Modern.

​  Married to politician Zohran Mamdani, who was elected mayor of New York City in the 2025 election, Duwaji will assume the role of First Lady of New York City on January 1, 2026.
​  Rama Sawaf Duwaji​ was born on June 30, 1997​ in Houston, Texas, to Syrian Muslim parents from Damascus. Her father is a software developer and her mother is a doctor.​ The family moved to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, when she was nine years old,​ and she spent the remainder of her childhood living among the Arab states of the Persian Gulf.​..
..Duwaji's illustrations often explore Arab culture and focus on social justice in the Middle East, particularly women's rights,​ but also depict scenes of daily life in those countries.​   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rama_Duwaji

​  Wikipedia: (serious academic) Mahmood Mamdani FBA (born 23 April 1946) is a Ugandan anthropologist, academic, and political commentator. As of November 2025 he is the Herbert Lehman Professor of Government and a professor of anthropology, political science, and African studies at Columbia University. He also serves as the chancellor of Kampala International University in Uganda, and honorary professor at the Centre for African Studies at the University of Cape Town.
  He was previously the director of the Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR) in Kampala, Uganda, from 2010 until 2022. Mamdani specialises in the study of African and international politics, colonialism and post‐colonialism, and the politics of knowledge production. He is married to filmmaker Mira Nair. He and Nair are the parents of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmood_Mamdani

  Wikipedia:  Mira Nair (IAST: Mīrā Nāyar; born October 15, 1957) is an Indian-American filmmaker. She is known for directing independent dramas through her production company Mirabai Films. She has received two prizes from the Cannes Film Festival and four prizes from the Venice Film Festival as well as nominations for two BAFTA Awards and two César Awards. Her films have also received two Academy Award nominations.
  Nair made her feature film debut directing the drama film Salaam Bombay! (1988), which received nominations for the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Golden Globe Award for Best International Feature Film. Her next film was the romantic drama Mississippi Masala (1991), for which she was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Film.
  She directed the comedy-drama Monsoon Wedding (2001), which won the Golden Lion at the 58th Venice International Film Festival; it was also nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best International Feature Film.
  She is the mother of Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City...

​..Mira Nair was born on October 15, 1957,​ in Rourkela, Orissa (now Odisha), India,​ the youngest of three children, and the only girl.
​  Her father, Amrit Lal Nair, was an officer of the Indian Administrative Service, and her mother, Praveen Nair, was a social worker.​ Her family is of Punjabi origin with roots in Delhi, and are Hindu...

​..In July 2013, Nair declined an invitation to the Haifa International Film Festival as a "guest of honor" to protest Israel's policies toward Palestine.​ In posts on Twitter, Nair wrote: "I will go to Israel when the walls come down. I will go to Israel when occupation is gone...I will go to Israel when the state does not privilege one religion over another. I will go to Israel when Apartheid is over. I stand w/ Palestine for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) & the larger BDS Mov't."​   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mira_Nair

​  What if mothers could raise their own children at home​ again?  Democrats’ NY mayor will shake things up starting with child care
Mamdani’s promises on rent, transportation, groceries also resonated with New Yorkers struggling with the high cost of living​   https://asiatimes.com/2025/11/democrats-ny-mayor-will-shake-things-up-starting-with-child-care/

​  Zohran Mamdani plans to revamp how the NYPD operates. Here's a look at his proposed Department of Community Safety.

​  Following his resounding victory on Tuesday night, all eyes will now be on how he tries to make good on many of his policy proposals, including potentially spending $1 billion on a Department of Community Safety, which he says would give civilians some of the responsibilities currently handled by police officers.
​  The centerpiece of the projected winner's public safety plan relies on mental health workers responding, before the NYPD, to certain situations involving emotionally disturbed individuals -- like some homeless people on the subways.​   https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/zohran-mamdani-new-york-city-department-of-community-safety/

​  Mamdani can't run for POTUS: Marjorie Taylor Greene tells allies she's running for president in 2028 as firebrand reinvention gains momentum   https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15262753/marjorie-taylor-greene-run-president.html

Family Man (took this picture of Jenny with November tomatoes and confused pear tree)