Mamdani Skips New York’s Main India Day Parade, Breaking Mayoral Tradition
NEW YORK — New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani did not attend the city’s main India Day Parade on Sunday, breaking with a long-standing tradition of mayors joining the annual Manhattan celebration of India’s independence.
Mamdani had been invited to the 44th India Day Parade by the Federation of Indian Associations, according to a source familiar with the matter, but did not participate.
Previous mayors including Eric Adams, Bill de Blasio, Michael Bloomberg and Rudy Giuliani regularly attended the event. The tradition dates to Mayor Ed Koch, who took part in the inaugural parade in 1981.
Mamdani instead attended a family day celebration organized by a public housing residents’ association in Brooklyn on Sunday.
He did participate a day earlier in a smaller India independence celebration in Floral Park, Queens.
After that event, Mamdani wrote on X that he attended as “the first Indian American mayor of New York City.”
“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,” Mamdani wrote.
The most prominent political figure at Sunday’s Manhattan parade was New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who said she was honored to celebrate with the state’s Indian American community.
Hochul had earlier proclaimed Aug. 15 as India Independence Day in New York state. She is seeking re-election in November.
Also participating in the parade were Sarita Komireddy, a Republican candidate for attorney general, State Sen. Jeremy Cooney and Rep. Shri Thanedar.
Mamdani is the son of filmmaker Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani, a Ugandan academic of Indian origin. (Source: IANS)
