Zohran Mamdani made history as the city's first Muslim mayor on January 1, and the ceremony ended with a surprise-filled finale that was a joyous moment – Punjabi music on the stage. The event ended with a performance by Babbulicious, a Punjabi artist from Toronto, and it immediately made headlines on social media platforms as it went viral.
A multicultural finale to a historic oath
At the age of 34, Mamdani swore the oath of office, a historical moment for the city. He comes from an Indian mother and a father of Indian origin in Uganda. He has continuously highlighted the fact that he is of South Asian origin in his political campaign. He even made a political video in Hindi and 'Dhoom Machale' being played during his victory speech, incorporating all the culture-related elements in the speech targeted at the desi community in foreign countries. The performance in Punjab at the swearing-in ceremony was the latest manifestation of this trend.
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What music was played at the inauguration ceremony?
The inauguration brought a diverse musical lineup to the stage: from welcome tunes by DJ mOma, to Bread and Roses performed by Grammy-winning artist Lucy Dacus; from actor Mandy Patinkin singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow with Staten Island's PS22 Chorus, to the finale featuring Babbulicious singing the Punjabi track "Gaddi Red Challenger."
Click here to watch the video.
Social media backlash over Punjabi performance
Videos began to surface of Mamdani dancing with his wife, Rama Duwaji, as hundreds joined in. As those clips started to spread online, responses were decidedly mixed. Many celebrated the multicultural moment, while some on social media pushed back at Punjabi music at the mayoral inauguration.
One X post labelled the performance as “an Islamic takeover of America,” writing, “Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration in New York City has music that’s not even in English and Muslim men on stage that look like they’re in Afghanistan. Buckle up America. This is the Islamic takeover of America.”
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Some of the people who responded to the outrage were those who corrected factual errors in the outcry. They clarified that Babbulicious is in fact a Sikh artist and not Muslim, and that the song performed is Punjabi and not religious.
“I oppose Mamdani. But the guy is a Sikh singing a Punjabi song,” said one commentator, as another blamed the rumor spreaders for not fact-checking the information they were putting out there. A user wrote, “First of, you just want to spread hate which is why you didn't do your homework and just trying to make people panic. Second, this is a Punjabi song and this guy is Sikh.”
