Mamdani in fresh political heat over college admission declaration

NYC MAYORAL NOMINEE } DEMOCRATIC PARTY LEADER HAD CLAIMED ASIAN, AFRICAN-AMERICAN STATUS IN 2009

- Shashank Mattoo

Indian-origin politician Zohran Mamdani, who made headlines after clinching the Democratic Party's nomination for Mayor of New York City, is at the centre of a fresh political controversy.

In a recent report, the New York Times stated that Mamdani had claimed both Asian as well as Black or African American status in a college application to Columbia University in 2009.

Mamdani’s political opponents have attacked the 33-year old politician for claiming African American status to advance his chances of admission into Columbia at a time when the university used race-sensitive affirmative action policies to enhance diversity in the student body.

Mamdani - who was born in Uganda to filmmaker Mira Nair and Indian-Ugandan academic Mahmood Mamdani - has said that he does not identify as African-American but as an “American born in Africa”.