'Hope this illness doesn't reach India': Ola's Bhavish Aggarwal slams gender pronouns, sparks debate

In his post, Bhavish Aggarwal hoped that the 'pronoun illness' does not reach India. (Image: @bhash/X)

Founder and CEO of Ola Bhavish Aggarwal took to X to share his thought on gender pronouns and sparked a debate on the microblogging platform. In his post, he hoped that the “pronoun illness” does not reach India and urged people to draw a line in following “the west blindly”.

Aggarwal asked LinkedIn’s AI bot about himself and shared a screenshot of the answer. The chatbot used “they” and “their” to address the CEO. “Hoping that this “pronoun illness” doesn’t reach India,” he wrote while sharing the post.

He also claimed that many “big city schools” in India were teaching how to use gender pronouns to children. “Also see many CVs with pronouns these days. Need to know where to draw the line in following the west blindly!”

“Screenshot is from LinkedIn’s AI bot. This ‘pronouns illness’ is being perpetuated in India by MNCs without us Indians even realising it,” Aggarwal added.

Hoping that this “pronoun illness” doesn’t reach India.

Many “big city schools” in India are now teaching it to kids. Also see many CVs with pronouns these days. Need to know where to draw the line in following the west blindly! pic.twitter.com/q4CwiV6dkE

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— Bhavish Aggarwal (@bhash) May 5, 2024

Since being shared on Monday, the post has swiftly garnered traction online. Aggarwal’s opinion also ignited a debate on X and the comments section was absolutely flooded with reactions. While some people wholeheartedly agreed with him, others advocated the need for gender pronouns.

“I disagree with you here. This doesn’t hurt anyone and do you really think having pronouns on CVs would impact your decision to hire an individual?” one user questioned.

Another user wrote, “Totally agree. We cannot import it when we have real issues on the ground. But this is up to the MNCs and government of India. Employees will be forced to follow it up.”

“Thank god. There is hope. A CEO and influencer speaking against this illness,” a third user commented.

A fourth user remarked, “Why am I not surprised? Just disappointed in you. Such potential.”

“Respecting pronouns is a basic act of decency, not an illness. Using someone's correct pronouns is the bare minimum, to respect LGBTQ+ folks. You're tweeting this just a month before Pride Month is celebrated and I'd suggest you take this time to follow thought queer leaders in India to understand their journey, struggles and needs. If you'd like a few recommendations to some individuals, organisations and workshop facilitators doing the important work of LGBTQ+ advocacy and education, hit me up,” another user added.