'Living in California and lecturing a billion Indians?' Harsh Goenka, Sabeer Bhatia trade blows

Industrialist Harsh Goenka and Hotmail co-founder Sabeer Bhatia have publicly traded blows on social media after Goenka rebuked Bhatia for his recent social media post criticising how dissent is labeled in India. Bhatia’s post, which questioned the branding of critical voices as “anti-national,” sparked a sharp response from Goenka, who accused him of moralising from afar.

Bhatia’s original post had listed examples of criticism—ranging from women’s safety to economic data—that he claimed were routinely dismissed as anti-national. “So if truth = anti-national… then who’s a national? The one who lies to you?” he asked.

Goenka replied, “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.”

Bhatia later hit back: “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…”

But the RPG Group chairperson's reply ignited a wave of reactions online, with many users praising his stance as patriotic and pragmatic. Others defended Bhatia, arguing that diaspora voices such as his are valid and often necessary to highlight uncomfortable truths. A few users also questioned Goenka’s credibility.