Zohran Mamdani Faces Backlash Over Controversial Gujarat Muslim Remarks

by Prasanna June 27, 2025 0 Comment

Zohran Mamdani’s assertion that there aren’t many Muslims left in Gujarat was criticised by a number of people, including Indian opposition figures, who were eager to refute the far-left figure’s claims. Many pointed to Gujarat’s most recent census statistics, which showed that Muslims accounted for at least 10% of the state’s population.

Following Zohran Mamdani’s thrilling win in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary, an old video of him criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the 2002 Gujarat riots and claiming that Muslims were exterminated from his native Gujarat has gone viral once more. Mamdani is the son of award-winning Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair. In addition to Indians, many members of his constituency’s almost two-lakh-strong Indian American population have criticised the comments.

The 33-year-old, who is on his way to becoming New York City’s first Muslim mayor, revealed his Gujarati Muslim heritage last month and asserted that so many people were slain in the 2002 riots that “people don’t even believe we exist anymore.”

He responded to a question regarding whether the mayoral candidates will accompany Prime Minister Modi on his visit to New York during a candidates’ forum held in the lead-up to the mayoral elections.

Prime Minister Modi should be viewed as a “war criminal” in the same way as his Israeli counterpart, according to Mamdani, who even compared him to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In 2022, the Supreme Court affirmed the Metropolitan Magistrate’s and the High Court’s rulings to grant PM Modi and others the clean sheet from the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which was formed by the highest court in relation to the Gujarat riots in 2002.

However, Mamdani’s assertion that there aren’t many Muslims left in Gujarat prompted criticism from a number of sources, including Indian opposition politicians, who were quick to verify the far-left figure’s claims. Many pointed to Gujarat’s most recent census data, which showed that six million Muslims, or at least 10% of the state’s population, were Muslims in 2011.

GETTING FACT-CHECKED ON MAMDANI

Senior Congress politician Abhishek Manu Singhvi spearheaded the opposition to Mamdani’s assertions on Thursday, posting on X: “Pakistan’s PR team takes the day off when Zohran Mamdani opens his mouth.” With “allies” like him yelling lies from New York, India doesn’t need enemies.

Indu Viswanathan, an Indian-American living in New York who describes herself as a liberal on her X page, attacked Mamdani for his “blatant lies,” describing him as “a projection of an illiberal, anti-intellectual left-wing authoritarianism that has sunk its teeth into progressive politics.”

Because he would be rewarded for lying, he lies plainly, which makes me doubt his integrity. He can use his lies to support a story that will get him to the mayor’s office. No true New Yorker would or should tolerate the kind of crap that individuals are ready to use to paint large groups of people from New York as immoral actors, unless we agree with their narrative about us. Those who think honesty is still important in public life shouldn’t either,” she said.

Using his X profile to identify himself as a geopolitical analyst, Sidharth, another Indian-American, criticised Mamdani for “years of brainwashing, misinformation, and hatred,” tweeting: “As of now, there are over 6.8 million Muslims in Gujarat.

Mamdani’s remarks were deemed “not only provocative and false, [but one that] insults the 6 million+ vibrant Muslim population in Gujarat by denying their existence,” according to political expert Omer Ghazi. “This shows Mamdani will lie through his teeth for his ideological goals,” he stated.