Harsh Goenka slams Hotmail founder Sabeer Bhatia for ‘lecturing’ a billion Indians from California

Indian-origin Hotmail co-founder Sabeer Bhatia remarked that anyone who speaks about issues in India is branded as “anti-national."

Sabeer Bhatia's remark

Bhatia went on listing examples in a post on X about raising concerns about women’s safety, questioning economic claims or pointing out misinformation by leaders.

 “Say India is unsafe for women – you’re anti-national. Question inflated economic numbers – you’re anti-national. Call out elected leaders’ lies – you’re anti-national. Mention lost aircraft – you’re anti-national. So if truth = anti-national… then who’s a national? The one who lies to you?" Bhatia wrote on X.

Harsh Goenka replies

Responding to Bhatia’s post, RPG Group Chairman Harsh Goenka reshared it and said, “Living in California and lecturing a billion Indians back home? We live here. We vote, work, pay taxes. We love this country – and we’ll fix what’s broken. India doesn’t need sermons from those who packed up and left."

Living in California and lecturing a billion Indians back home?
We live here. We vote, work, pay taxes.
We love this country- and we’ll fix what’s broken.
India doesn’t need sermons from those who packed up and left. https://t.co/lWHuGEQRes

— Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) August 1, 2025

Internet reaction

Goenka’s comment drew the attention of the netizens and sparked a wide range of responses. Some social media users supported his view while others saw a reason in Bhatia’s remark.

One user wrote, “Excellent response… Sabeer is now heading into a dormant phase!"

Another commented, “What a great and befitting reply sir. This is our country and no matter how it is we all will fix it for sure."

“Well said Sir… Despite shortcomings we love our country & we strive to overcome them," a person added.

“Don’t we celebrate these same Indians with their achievements in the USA. We are so obsessed that we want to claim Tulsi Gabbard or Sunita Williams even. Why this selective outrage against one individual???" an individual asked.

A user wrote, “Someone sitting wherever and having the guts to highlight the problems is much better than someone not having the guts to admit there is any problem."

“To fix what is broken you need to first accept & realise it," read another comment.

Following Goenka’s remark and the online buzz that followed, Sabeer Bhatia responded.

“I’ve been hearing that sob story for more than 30 years now. It’s only getting worse because we have fantastic lecturers and no doers. Lots of Chiefs and no Indians…," he wrote.

Bhatia's previous controversies

This isn’t the first time Bhatia’s remarks have led to controversy. He questioned whether the benefits of India’s economic rise were reaching ordinary citizens shortly after India surpassed Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy. 

Earlier, he had expressed concern about the Indian educ ation system and claimed that the GDP calculation in the country is “wrong.”

Former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai had accused Bhatia earlier of spreading negativity despite living abroad.

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