Mamdani breaks 45-year mayoral tradition at New York’s India Day parade

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani stayed away from the city’s main India Day parade, breaking a tradition of the metropolis's top leader joining the tens of thousands celebrating the nation’s freedom.

While he was not at the parade on Aug 15, he participated in a smaller neighbourhood celebration of India’s independence on Aug 14 in the city’s Queens borough.

The Federation of Indian Associations that organised the traditional 44th India Day Parade had invited Madani, who has Indian and Ugandan backgrounds, but he did not come, according to a source privy to the matter.

Mamdani’s predecessors, including Mayors Eric Adams, Bill de Blasio, Michael Bloomberg, and Rudy Giuliani, had made it a point to attend the parade in Manhattan, which was a tradition started by the legendary Mayor Ed Koch at the inaugural parade in 1981.

On Aug 15, Mamdani instead went to a family day celebration organised by an association of public housing residents in Brooklyn.

The political star of Sunday’s India Day Parade in Manhattan was Governor Kathy Hochul.

She said she was honoured to join the celebrations by the “vibrant community” of Indian Americans.

Earlier, she had proclaimed Aug 15 as India Independence Day in the state.

Hochul, a Democrat, is running for re-election as governor in November.

Marching by her side were Indian Americans Sarita Komireddy, a Republican contesting the election for attorney general, State Senator Jeremy Cooney and Congressman Shri Thanedar.

After participating in the Saturday parade in Floral Park, Mamdani said on X that he was there as “the first Indian American mayor of New York City”.

He is the son of movie director Mira Nayar and Mahmood Mamdani, a Ugandan academic of Indian origin.

Mamdani said in his post, “Mayor David Dinkins once described our city as a gorgeous mosaic. Today, I saw that mosaic in the Hindus and Christians, Muslims and Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs across the Indian diaspora who have helped make our city what it is”.

“Except for the headline, no changes have been made to the story by Education Post staff.”