On Nov. 4, Zohran Momdani defeated Andrew Cuomo to become the next mayor of New York City. With the victory, Momdani became the first Muslim and person of South Asian descent to hold the position. At 34 years old, he almost became the youngest mayor of New York City in more than a century.
Momdani was born in Uganda to two parents of Indian descent. He spent his early years in Kampala, Uganda, before moving to Cape Town, South Africa, where he attended primary school. The Momdani family moved to Queens, New York, when he was 7.
The Momdani vs. Cuomo primary was one of the most closely covered across the nation, and despite the distance from Syracuse, the race caught the eye of some South Asian Syracuse students. Arnav Pokhrel and Olivia Boyer are both South Asian seniors at Syracuse and followed the race. Pokhrel is a Nepali student from Nebraska, while Boyer is half Pakistani and grew up in Ohio.
“I think I followed it pretty closely, especially when Zohran won the primary, and two politicians who lost the primary — Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams — continued to run,” Pokhrel said.
There were other reasons to follow the race for these two South Asian students. Growing up in America, they did not see many people who looked like them in positions of power. Kamala Harris was an exception to that rule in the past presidential election, but it was encouraging to see someone who looked like them win.
“I’m not a native of New York City, but seeing someone who is South Asian and someone who has, you know, the same experiences that I have, being someone that’s brown in America — it was really touching to see, like, hey, you know, representation is real, and it matters. His winning was pretty important to me,” Pokhrel said.
Boyed weighed in as well.
“I think it’s always good to have representation, especially given that there aren’t that many South Asian politicians in the United States. To me, it is especially meaningful that he’s a Muslim politician, especially in New York City … and one that is in a position to do well,” Boyer said.
While Momdani winning a crucial mayoral race is a good start, the sentiment between Pokhrel and Boyer was that this was only the beginning. The focus is on the next generation and what it means to them.
“I think for younger generations it’s going to be even more meaningful because there are definitely people who, like, don’t think they’re capable of that, who are of South Asian descent, and I think that it’s more meaningful to me that it’s a possibility for younger generations,” Boyer said.
Pokhrel added his thoughts on the matter.
“My friends who want to be politicians now have someone they’ve seen the process work out for — someone in that sense, I think that really helps,” Pokhrel said.
The rise of South Asians in U.S. politics has grown significantly in the past 25 years. In 2000, only five Indian Americans had ever been elected to public office in the U.S. That number has now grown to more than 300. But Momdani is different — a young Muslim mayor running and winning against a political dynasty like Andrew Cuomo shows Momdani and others who look like him that they belong.