Mamdani skips New York’s India Day parade, breaking mayoral tradition

New York mayor Zohran Mamdani skipped the city’s main India Day Parade in Manhattan on Sunday, breaking a decades-old tradition of the city’s mayor joining tens of thousands of people celebrating India’s Independence Day.

Mamdani, who has Indian and Ugandan roots, was invited by the Federation of Indian Associations, which organised the 44th annual parade, but did not attend, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Instead, the mayor took part in a smaller India Independence Day celebration in Queens on Saturday. He also attended a family day event organised by an association of public housing residents in Brooklyn on Sunday.

Mayoral tradition dating back to 1981

Mamdani’s absence marks a departure from a tradition that dates back to 1981, when then-mayor Ed Koch attended the inaugural India Day Parade.

His predecessors, including Rudy Giuliani, Michael Bloomberg, Bill de Blasio and Eric Adams, continued the tradition by participating in the annual Manhattan celebration.

The parade once again drew prominent political figures on Sunday, with New York Governor Kathy Hochul emerging as the event’s leading political presence.

Hochul said she was honoured to join the celebrations of New York’s “vibrant community” of Indian Americans. Earlier, she had officially proclaimed 15 August as India Independence Day in New York state.

The Democratic governor, who is seeking re-election in November, was joined by Indian American Republican attorney general candidate Sarita Komireddy, State Senator Jeremy Cooney and Congressman Shri Thanedar.

Mamdani celebrates Indian-American heritage

Mamdani had attended the India Day celebration in Floral Park on Saturday, where he described himself as “the first Indian American mayor of New York City”.

In a post on X, he invoked former mayor David Dinkins’ description of New York as a “gorgeous mosaic”, highlighting the diversity of the Indian diaspora.

“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 said.

Mamdani is the son of filmmaker Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani, a Ugandan academic of Indian origin. His decision to skip the flagship Manhattan parade, despite attending a smaller celebration the previous day, has nevertheless set him apart from a long line of New York mayors who made the annual event a fixture on their calendars.

With IANS inputs