South Asia Investor Review

"Ana minkum wa alaikum" declared Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City in his victory speech on November 4, 2025. The phrase translates to "I am from you and  and I am with you".  "New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and, as of tonight, led by an immigrant", he added. Mamdani is the first Muslim and first immigrant of South Asian descent elected  New York City Mayor. At 34, he is not only the youngest but also the first mayor of the Big Apple who was born in Africa.  Zohran Mamdani Speaking Outside the Bronx Islamic Center With his landslide victory in the mayoral race, Mandani will join London Mayor Sadiq Khan to become the second Muslim mayor of a major western city.  Mamdani became the first New York mayoral candidate to win over a million votes since the 1960s — more than Rudy Giuliani or Mike Bloomberg ever received. Mamdani has received 50.4% of the votes counted so far. Cuomo is at...

Several Congressional Democrats have recently refused campaign contributions from AIPAC, the powerful Israel lobby, according to media reports. “Democrats who once counted AIPAC among their top donors have in recent weeks refused to take the group’s donations”, says a  New York Times  story titled  "Democrats Pull Away From AIPAC, Reflecting a Broader Shift".  “AIPAC is becoming an increasingly toxic brand for some Democrats on Capitol Hill," it says.  It cites the example of Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., the minority leader, who has long been endorsed by the hardline AIPAC, has now chosen to accept the support of J Street, the competing Israel lobby that advocates a two-state solution.  Results of Recent Poll of American Jews. Source: Washington Post A recent poll conducted by the  Washington Post  has found that  "most (American) Jews (61%) say Israel is committing war crimes — and 39% say  genocide  — while often distinguish...

Omer Hasan and Mohammad Javed are the top donors to Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign in New York City, according to media reports. Both are former executives of Silicon Valley technology firm AppLovin. Born and raised in Silicon Valley , Omer is the son of a Pakistani-American couple who are long-time residents of Silicon Valley, California.  Omer Hasan, Top Donor to Mamdani Campaign Muhammad Javed donated $251,500 to New Yorkers for Lower Costs, a super-PAC backing Zohran Mamdani. Omer gave $250,000 to this super PAC. Other Mamdani super PAC donors include Liz Simons, Philanthropist, and daughter of hedge-fund billionaire Jim Simons, who gave $250,000 and Unity & Justice Fund, the political arm of the Council on American-Islamic Relations CAIR, that gave $100,000. But the biggest support has come from small donors to the Mamdani campaign. It has received a lot more money from small-dollar donors.  In August 2025, Mamdani's campaign had raised over $1 million from more th...

Rampant corruption is believed to be a major factor impeding economic development in Pakistan and many other developing nations. Is this corruption and lawlessness rooted in the absence of adequate law enforcement, or the lack of independent judges ? Or is it a national culture of corruption that ranks such nations among the most corrupt in the world on Transparency International surveys ? A paper titled "Cultures of Corruption: Evidence from Diplomatic Parking Tickets" by Ray Fisman of Columbia University and Edward Miguel of University of California, Berkeley attempts to answer the above question by using parking violations data on international diplomats living in New York City during 1997-2005. Since all foreign diplomats have immunity from prosecution in the host country, they do not have to pay fines for any parking violations in New York City. The authors argue that the way the diplomats from different nations behave in such a situation is entirely based on the cultur...