In a stunning political upset that has caught the eye of political observers and could potentially upend the Democratic Party in the U.S., a new progressive star has emerged: Zohran Kwame Mamdani, the presumptive winner of the New York City mayoral primary.
For an Indian progressive uninitiated in American politics, the name Zohran Kwame Mamdani will invoke references to two familiar figures. The 33-year-old is the son of noted postcolonial theorist and academic Mahmood Mamdani, who has written extensively on the legacy of colonialism in Africa, and acclaimed film director Mira Nair. His middle name is, of course, a reference to Kwame Nkrumah, the Ghanaian Pan-Africanist revolutionary leader. But now the younger Mamdani has become a name to be reckoned with on his own accord.
