New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who is also the son of famous filmmaker Mira Nair, has recently been at the centre of controversies over the Holocaust. Now, an old video has surfaced and doing the rounds in which Mamdani is seen leading a protest against the BJP government in India over the demolition of the Babri Masjid and the Ram Temple. “NYC Candidate for Mayor Zohran Mamdani led a mob of protestors in Times Square calling Hindus as bast**ds and heaping abuses upon Lord Rama, who is worshipped by Hindus. A true scumbag,” the viral video said. In the 2020 video, Mamdani was seen masked because of the pandemic, as all other people in the background were were, as well.At that time, Mamdani was the candidate for New York State Assembly district 36 — the election that he won later. He spoke in fluent Hindi and English in the video and started it with ‘Sat Shri Akal ji’. In the background, there were apparently anti-Hindu chants calling Hindus ‘basta**s’. He, however, did not speak about religion and only attacked the ruling party in India. As this old video went viral, social media users dug up his old X post before the protest in which he condemned the BJP in India. “As an Indian Muslim whose family is witnessing the rising tide of fascism in India, I won’t be silent. As New Yorkers who are no strangers to the rise of right-wing nationalism at home, none of us should be silent,” Mamdani wrote at that time.

What is the holocaust row over Mamdani?

Politico reported that Mamdani declined to sign onto a state Assembly resolution recognizing Israel on the 77th anniversary of its founding, four months after the lawmaker passed on signing a separate resolution condemning the Holocaust.Mamdani reacted to the accusation and issued a statement that his public statements should outweigh his actions on non-binding resolutions. “I have condemned the Holocaust every year. This is something that is very clear to me and every New Yorker, and is something that I’ve made clear mostly in public statements, which is where most New Yorkers are actually engaging with their politics,” Mamdani said.

What is Mamdani’s India connection?

Mamdani’s parents were both born in India. His mother is filmmaker Mira Nair who married Mahmood Mamdani, an Indian-born Ugandan academic, author. Zohran Kwame Mamdani was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda, moving to New York City with his family at the age of 7. A graduate of the NYC Public School System, he attended the Bronx High School of Science and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Africana Studies from Bowdoin College.A few years later in 2018, he became naturalized as an American citizen.