Priyanka Tiwari
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Suspense crime, Digital Desk : Newly-elected BJP MP and actress Kangana Ranaut has sparked a new controversy by taking aim at Zohran Mamdani, the son of acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair, following his victory in a New York State Assembly primary. In a social media post, Ranaut questioned his name, claiming it "sounds more Pakistani than Indian."
Taking to her Instagram Stories, Ranaut began by congratulating Mira Nair on her son's political success. However, she quickly pivoted to a critique of his name, "Zohran." She then broadened her criticism to what she described as a trend among "Bollywood people" who give their children "Muslim sounding names" in what she suggested was a misguided attempt to appear secular.
"We must appreciate our own heritage and not appear as a cheap copy of others," she wrote, implying that the choice of name was a form of cultural appeasement.
Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, recently won the Democratic primary for New York’s 36th Assembly District. He is the son of Mira Nair and prominent Ugandan academic Mahmood Mamdani. Born in Kampala, Uganda, and raised in New York, Mamdani is an American politician with a multicultural heritage.
The comments are being seen as another example of Ranaut's signature brand of polarizing and nationalist rhetoric. Her statement taps into the ongoing cultural and political debates in India surrounding secularism, religious identity, and patriotism.
The incident highlights how quickly a moment of personal achievement for a person of Indian heritage abroad can be drawn into the complex and often contentious landscape of Indian identity politics, especially by a prominent public figure who is now also a Member of Parliament.
As of now, neither Zohran Mamdani nor Mira Nair has responded to Ranaut's comments.
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