In a touching moment during his historic inauguration as New York City’s 112th mayor, Zohran Mamdani recalled a conversation with a Pakistani woman named Samina, who told him his movement had fostered “something too rare: softness in people’s hearts”. Speaking before thousands gathered at City Hall on New Year’s Day, the 34-year-old mayor quoted her words in Urdu: “Logon ke dil badal gaye hain”.
The moment came as Mamdani recounted spending 12 hours at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, listening to 142 New Yorkers from every borough share their stories and concerns about the city. Samina’s observation reflected the emotional impact of Mamdani’s grassroots campaign, which mobilized over 90,000 volunteers and resonated with diverse communities across the city.
Mamdani made history as New York’s first Muslim, first South Asian, and first African-born mayor. During his speech, he thanked his family “from Kampala to Delhi,” acknowledging his multicultural heritage as the son of filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani.
The reference to Samina exemplified Mamdani’s commitment to representing New York’s diverse immigrant communities. He vowed to “govern expansively and audaciously,” declaring: “I was elected as a democratic socialist, and I will govern as a democratic socialist. I will not abandon my principles for fear of being deemed radical”.
The Urdu phrase resonated deeply with South Asian communities, symbolizing how Mamdani’s campaign transcended traditional politics to create genuine human connections. Samina’s words captured what many felt: that his movement represented not just political change, but a transformation in how people engage with each other, with empathy, hope, and renewed faith in collective action.
