Entrepreneur Ashneer Grover reacted sharply after Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu urged Indians living in America to consider returning to India and contribute to the country’s technological growth.
(Also read: 'Time to go back': Zoho's Sridhar Vembu calls for reverse migration to villages, internet divided)
In a post on X, Vembu addressed Indians in America through an “open letter”, saying that many had arrived in the US with limited resources but strong education and cultural values from India.
“Open letter to Indians in America. Dear brothers and sisters from Bharat: Like I did 37 years ago, you arrived in America with no money but with a good education and cultural heritage from Bharat. You achieved outstanding success. America was good to us. For that we must remain grateful, gratitude is our Bharatiya way,” Vembu wrote.
He added that despite their success, many Americans now believed that Indians “take away” American jobs and that their success was “unfairly earned”.
Vembu further wrote, “You may think the next election will fix this, but your choice would be between people who hate our Bharatiya civilisation and people who hate civilisation itself. That is the ‘hard right’ vs ‘woke left’ battle. You are mere bystanders to that conflict.”
Vembu calls for focus on India’s technological rise
In his post, Vembu said the global respect Indians command would depend largely on India’s own fortunes. “Respect in today’s world, along with prosperity and security, comes from one source: a nation’s technological prowess,” he wrote.
{{/usCountry}}In his post, Vembu said the global respect Indians command would depend largely on India’s own fortunes. “Respect in today’s world, along with prosperity and security, comes from one source: a nation’s technological prowess,” he wrote.
{{/usCountry}}He added that India had produced enough talent to achieve such technological strength but had exported much of it, especially to America.
“As difficult as it is for many of you to contemplate this, please come back home. Bharat Mata needs your talent. Our vast youthful population needs the technology leadership you gained over the years to guide them towards prosperity. Let’s do it with a missionary zeal. Respectfully, Sridhar Vembu,” he concluded.
Check out the post here:
Ashneer Grover’s response
The post soon caught the attention of Ashneer Grover, who offered a blunt response. “What delulu ! Record breaking heat in India is clearly making people dizzy. Just DON’T - be scientific in your approach. Look at numbers - $1 = ₹94. Temperature = 50C,” Grover wrote.
Take a look here at the post:
Internet reacts
Vembu’s post has garnered more than seven lakh views and sparked a wide range of reactions online.
(Also read: 'Bilkul time waste': Ashneer Grover says Budget 2026 reminded him of his remarks on Shark Tank)
One user wrote, “Patriotism is important, but asking people to return without addressing basic issues is not practical.” Another said, “India needs talent, but talent also needs infrastructure, clean cities and better work culture.” A third commented, “Sridhar Vembu has a point. Nation building cannot happen if everyone leaves.” Another user wrote, “Ashneer said what many people are thinking but are afraid to say.”