The images and sounds from Zohran Mamdani’s victory celebration are surreal.On one side, his Punjabi Hindu mother in a sari; on the other, his Ugandan-Gujarati-American Muslim father in a suit. His Syrian Arab wife by his side. And playing in the background, a Hindi Bollywood song, ‘Dhoom machāle.’ It felt almost like a dream.The scene radiated diversity, but it would have been incomplete without the words Mamdani spoke before all these people appeared on stage. Diversity, he reminded us, is never enough if it does not rest on the ground of equality. After all, the Republican Party too can claim diversity: the US Vice-President J.D. Vance’s wife is a Hindu of Indian origin; many of its officials are neither American-origin nor Christian. Yet, none of them, like their leader, Donald Trump, believes in the principle of equality.Zohran Kwame Mamdani’s victory in the New York mayoral election is the result of millions believing in something that seemed impossible only a year back. In his victory speech, Mamdani – who has just turned 34 – reminded everyone how much was stacked against him: that despite his wish to be older, he could not not be young; that he is Muslim; and that he is a democratic socialist. And, most damning of all, that he refuses to apologise for any of these ‘deficiencies’.There was something else that counted against him. Mamdani had declared without hesitation that if Benjamin Netanyahu ever came to New York, he would be arrested. Mamdani in called Netanyahu a war criminal. He refused to accept Israel as a Jew-only state. Even under provocation, he held firmly to his position: that Israel does have a right to exist as a sovereign state – but only as a nation where everyone enjoys equal rights. To say this, in New York – the city with the largest Jewish population outside Israel – demanded an unshakable faith in the principle of equality.Yet for Mamdani, it was not only a matter of his principles. He trusted that Jews in America and New York were, at heart, humane people who believed in justice. For what is humanity, after all, if it is not suffused with the spirit of equality and fairness? The Jews did not disappoint him. They rejected the idea of Jewish supremacy and affirmed that they were no different from other New Yorkers – that their needs, their dignity, and their longing for justice and equality could not be ranked above anyone else’s. Jews need not be seen as a people apart.It is true that millions of voters believed in these ideas. But they did so because Mamdani himself believed in them with conviction. Whenever asked about his identity, he never tried to take the easy way out by saying he was “American first.” His courage lay precisely in his refusal to evade the question. Character is tested when one stands by what can harm them most. In America, the Muslim identity has been criminalised. To embrace it fully is not easy for any politician. Mamdani took that difficult path.To call oneself a democratic socialist in America is no less risky, though the idea has a long history there. Just as Rahul Gandhi has been branded a Maoist or an “urban Naxal” in India, Mamdani too was branded a ‘communist lunatic’ to scare traditional voters. Yet he never flinched. He explained democratic socialism with a rare simplicity, invoking Martin Luther King Jr., “Call it democracy, or call it democratic socialism – there must be a better distribution of wealth for all of God’s children in this country.”Mamdani’s campaign revolved around a single idea: that living in New York should be easy for everyone. He promised rent control, free bus service, and higher wages for workers. Where would the money come from? He said plainly: from higher taxes on the wealthy. What could be more terrifying in America than that? Billionaires poured millions into defeating him — but the power of money was met, and overcome, by the power of the people.Also read: Seven Dimensions of Zohran Mamdani’s Win Hold Significance For IndiansFaith in principle and in people’s innate goodness was necessary, but not enough. Goodness alone achieves nothing unless it is organized. Mamdani organized it with great skill. A team that began with 30 volunteers grew into a movement of over a hundred thousand. From door-to-door visits to conversations in community centres, pubs, mosques, temples, and synagogues — the campaign built a web of human connection. What began with 1% grew into more than 50%.This was not a dry exercise in political duty; it was charged with joy. The campaign became a celebration of human encounters, of friendships being forged. Mamdani used social media creatively, but he was always physically among people – shaking hands with taxi drivers, chatting with workers, laughing with strangers on the street. He turned an election into a festival of friendship.Living in a city, he believed, should not feel like mere survival; it should bring joy. That was the soul of his campaign. He spoke of meeting a woman who told him, “I used to love this city. Now I just live here.” Mamdani’s victory feels like reclaiming the city as a human experience — a place where life, not just work, can flourish.In the noise of Trump’s threats and the hatred directed at him for being both Muslim and socialist, Mamdani’s smiling, laughing face stood out — the image of a man utterly at ease with himself. Such confidence draws others in. He met bitterness with humour. His good cheer was contagious, disarming even his opponents.I watched a video from July. Each candidate was asked if they would visit Israel after winning. All said yes – except Mamdani. Without hesitation, he said, “I’ve said before: one need not visit Israel to stand up for Jewish New Yorkers. To stand up for them means meeting them where they are – in their synagogues and temples, their homes, on the subway platform, or in a park – wherever they may be.”At that moment, he broke with a 75-year-old tradition. Every New York mayor had visited Israel to win Jewish confidence. Mamdani chose a different kind of respect – the kind that does not conflate Jewishness with a single homeland. For him, a Jew’s home is wherever they live. Not every Jew supports Israel’s cruelty.Mamdani’s victory has restored faith in the possibility of friendship within democracy. Firmness and gentleness are not opposites. Listening to him, one felt that democracy had also recovered its language. His speech will be remembered not just for what it said, but for its poetic cadence and moral clarity. Quoting Mario Cuomo, the former governor of New York, Mamdani reminded his listeners: “You campaign in poetry, but you govern in prose.” While not disagreeing, he added, “If that must be true, let the prose we write still rhyme”Amen.Apoorvanand teaches at Delhi University.