Why MAGA is losing its mind over Zohran Mamdani eating biryani with his hand

Time of India

18 hours ago

Image: X.com
It's 2025 and eating rice by hand is the new political weapon!
It was just a man eating rice. With his hands. The way millions of people do every single day, across continents, cultures, and kitchens. But in 2025 America, that simple act turned into a political battlefield.
Enter New York Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, a progressive politician and proud South Asian who casually posted a video of himself eating rice and curry with his fingers. No flashy graphics. No soundbites. Just rice, lentils, and quiet dignity. But then came the backlash—loud, swift, and, frankly, ridiculous.
Texas Republican Congressman Brandon Gill responded with what can only be described as textbook cultural xenophobia: 'Go back to the Third World.'
Just like that, eating with your hands was no longer about dinner. It was about identity, dignity, and who gets to belong in America.
So, let's talk about why eating rice—yes, rice—became a political weapon in 2025 in MAGA vs Zohran Mamdani.
A plate full of prejudice
First, let's get one thing straight: eating with your hands isn't dirty, weird, or backward. It's normal. In India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, parts of the Middle East, and even in some parts of Europe, using your hands to eat is a sign of connection—to the food, to your senses, to tradition.
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But in the video of Mamdani eating with his fingers, Gill and his supporters saw something else. They didn't see heritage. They saw a threat. Because in their worldview, anything outside the 'white, Western' norm becomes fair game for mockery or suspicion.
It wasn't about rice. It was about power.
'Go back' is never just a phrase
The phrase 'go back to the Third World' isn't just a casual insult—it's a political dog whistle. It's the same energy as 'go back to where you came from,' just dressed up in geopolitical vocabulary.
It's meant to delegitimize, to humiliate, and to draw a cultural boundary line: You're not one of us.
Never mind that Mamdani is a New York-born elected official. Or that the "Third World" terminology is outdated, inaccurate, and soaked in Cold War-era snobbery. Or that Americans eat burgers, fried chicken, and ribs—with their hands—without being called uncivilized.
In this case, eating with your fingers wasn't seen as personal—it was seen as political.
The double standard is deliciously obvious
Let's play a game: list five foods Americans love eating with their hands.
Go ahead. We'll wait.
Pizza. Burgers. Fried chicken. Fries. Tacos.
All messy. All finger food. All accepted without question. No one tells someone chowing down on a dripping cheeseburger to 'go back to the Third World.' But when a brown man eats rice with his hands? Suddenly, it's a threat to civilization.
The hypocrisy is wild—but not surprising.
When authenticity makes people uneasy
The fallout wasn't just political—it also caused some rumbles within the South Asian diaspora. Some folks felt secondhand embarrassment. Others applauded Mamdani for showing up as his full, unapologetic self.
This tension isn't new. Many second- or third-generation immigrants grow up navigating two worlds: the world of their parents and the world of their peers. That often means editing how they eat, speak, or show up.
Whitewashed lunch boxes. Switched-off accents. Curry smells hidden in sealed containers.
Mamdani's hand-eating wasn't just a cultural moment—it was a reminder that authenticity still makes people uncomfortable. Even within our own communities.
From curry to campaign trail
To understand why Mamdani's rice moment landed so hard, you have to zoom out. He's not just some guy eating lunch—he's a progressive elected official in a country where identity politics and culture wars have taken center stage.
Mamdani, who once ran on a campaign called Roti and Roses, has always tied his politics to food, culture, and justice. His support for food justice programs, housing rights, and labor protections connects with the everyday experiences of working-class communities—including immigrants.
So when he posts a video eating with his hands, it's not just aesthetic. It's a deliberate choice to show solidarity, connection, and pride in his roots.
But for critics on the far right, that pride is interpreted as defiance.
And defiance must be punished.
Food isn't just food. It's identity
Here's the thing: food is never just food. It's memory, heritage, comfort, protest, and politics—all rolled into one.
What we eat, how we eat, and who we eat with sends signals about who we are and where we belong. Mamdani's video did all of that. It was subtle but powerful. A quiet act of defiance that said, This is who I am—and I'm not hiding it for anyone.
And that's what truly scared his critics.
What this moment really says about 2025 America and MAGA
This entire episode—one man, one plate of rice, one racist response—says a lot more about the country than about Mamdani.
It says that cultural insecurity still runs deep. That people will use something as universal as eating to divide and exclude. That even in a so-called melting pot, some flavors are still considered 'too foreign.'
But it also shows something else: people are tired of hiding.
Tired of apologizing. Tired of editing themselves to fit into someone else's idea of 'American.'
Because if America is truly a place where everyone belongs, then eating rice with your hands shouldn't be controversial—it should be celebrated.
So, the next time someone mocks a cultural practice as 'uncivilized,' hand them a mirror—and maybe a biryani.
Because food is power. And in 2025, eating rice with your hands isn't just a meal. It's a message.
Hands, not hate. Always.