Democratic candidate for New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani waves on stage after winning the 2025 New York City Mayoral race, at an election night rally in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Reuters
A group of students from Lakshmipat Singhania Academy (LSA) are engrossed in a conversation. No, they are not talking about films, cricket or influencers, but about Zohran Mamdani — the newly elected mayor of New York — and a change.
The new mayor of a different city has got Calcutta students talking, sharing his posts and dreaming of a better world. According to them, this 34-year-old leader, whose speech ended with Bollywood hit Dhoom machale has finally connected with the youth.
Bavrabi Dutta of Class X from LSA sees this change as an inclusion of solutions. “We don’t want the old version of change — where one leader simply replaced another. For us, change means sustainability policies, mental health reforms, cleaner cities, rights for marginalised voices. Mamdani addressed these points. We want leaders who understand the world we will inherit, not the world of the past.”
Mamdani was named the mayor of the New York City on November 4, becoming the city’s first Muslim and Indian-Ugandan mayor.
For 17-year-old Zumaira Amin of Bidya Bharati Girls’ High School, his combination of youthful energy and intellectual depth made all the difference. “It felt refreshing. I followed his speech, because I felt he spoke about issues which most leaders don’t. When he quoted Jawaharlal Nehru in the beginning and the music track Dhoom machale played after his speech, it felt like leadership no longer had to be distant and stiff,” she said.
Srijato Banerjee of Class XII, Indus Valley World School, was hopeful. “After a point, every leader ends up sounding the same,” he said. “They talk about change, progress, unity — but what do they really do? I don’t want to be impressed only by speeches. Mamdani has a different vibe.” Srijato felt Mamdani had the power to analyse problems and find solutions to them. He represented a shift.
Sonakshi Ghosh of Class X, M.P. Birla Foundation Higher Secondary School, felt that students are tired of divisive leadership. “We don’t want leaders who talk about a greener and peaceful world. We don’t want wars to be romanticised; we want them to end,” she said. “Older leaders overlook the rights of the youth. They speak about us but rarely with us. We want to be part of the decision-making process that shapes our future.”
Eighteen-year-old Madhav Rathi of Class XII is much more concerned about the generational disconnect. “Older leaders often overlook the rights of the youth. Our concerns are dismissed as immaturity. But the future is ours. We should be heard,” said he student from Delhi Public School, Newtown.
The irony lies in geography — the inspiration has come from a political shift taking place nearly 13,000 kilometres away from Calcutta. Yet students insist distance doesn’t matter. “Yes, it’s New York. Yes, it has nothing to do with Calcutta. But hope doesn’t need borders. We want leaders who are not fascist, who imagine a unified world,”
said Srijato.