Food and the civilising mission

Mockery of Mamdani for eating with his hands exposes the enduring afterlife of colonial hierarchies.

Zohran Mamdani has won a globally-watched election to become the first South Asian mayor of New York City. En route, the Democratic party candidate and son of Indian-origin immigrants—filmmaker Mira Nair and academic Mahmood Mamdani—had to face various kinds of attacks, including a smear campaign that targeted him for eating a rice dish with his hands. Colonialism produced and reproduced several stereotypes and myths—chiefly, those in relation to race and ethnicity. Some of these continue to rear their heads in our present world, shaping how we judge bodies, habits, and gestures.