Namita Thapar slams Hotmail's Sabeer Bhatia. Says 'easy to move to another country and give gyan' about Indian engineers

The debate over India’s engineering talent pool and its evolving work culture has once again come under the spotlight—this time, sparked by sharp remarks from Hotmail co-founder Sabeer Bhatia and an equally pointed response from Shark Tank India judge and Emcure Pharmaceuticals Executive Director, Namita Thapar.

In a recent podcast, Bhatia didn’t mince words as he critiqued India’s engineering education system and the country’s attitude toward innovation. According to him, the majority of Indian engineering graduates abandon the core of their technical training shortly after graduation. “99% of Indians who graduate as engineers join management and start giving gyan to everybody,” he said, lamenting the widespread shift from actual engineering work to business-centric roles. He further questioned the country’s work ethic, asking, “Where are the people who work with their hands?”

However, his comments didn’t sit well with Namita Thapar, who took to LinkedIn to respond. Drawing from her own experiences living in the United States for eight years, Thapar pushed back against what she saw as a familiar pattern of successful expatriates critiquing India from afar. She argued that while brain drain is a genuine concern and merits government attention, the real impact lies in staying back and contributing to change from within.

“It's easy to move to another country and give gyan, but the real challenge is staying in your own country and facilitating change,” Thapar wrote in a pointed post aimed at Bhatia’s remarks.


Internet reacts
Several users chimed in with their perspectives, reflecting a range of views on the debate sparked by Sabeer Bhatia and Namita Thapar. One individual shared that while they had the option to settle in Stuttgart, Germany, they chose to manufacture in India instead—acknowledging the process as painful and challenging but ultimately worth the effort. Another expressed alignment with the sentiment, citing personal experience in similar conditions.

Some supported Bhatia’s critique, arguing that his observations reflect the reality of the current engineering landscape in India rather than just empty commentary. They felt that his words highlight a critical issue that needs to be addressed.

Others resonated more strongly with Thapar’s message, emphasizing that real change requires staying back and building within the country. They stressed that contributing from within—despite the chaos and challenges—is far more impactful than critiquing from a distance. The conversation also reignited concerns around brain drain, with users noting how India continues to export its talent, but often struggles to reintegrate that experience and energy into the domestic innovation ecosystem.

What other observations did Sabeer Bhatia make?
It’s worth noting that Bhatia, a Stanford graduate and one of the pioneers of the dot-com era, currently resides in San Francisco. Also, Bhatia's observations didn’t stop there. He criticized what he called India’s “trader mindset”—one that emphasizes replication over originality. In his view, India risks becoming a “cheap jack of all trades” unless it consciously chooses to specialise and prioritise creativity. He stressed that companies in India often gravitate toward outsourcing services instead of building original software, a trend he believes is holding the nation back from becoming a true innovation hub.