Tech influencer’s remark on ‘massive health crisis’ in India sparks debate online
A venture capitalist, Das took to social media platform X, stating that every time he visits India, his eyes water more and that he ends up coughing more
Indian-origin tech influencer Debarghya aka Deedy Das has sparked a widespread debate online after he called out what he dubbed “a massive health crisis” in India.
A venture capitalist, Das took to social media platform X and said that every time he visits India, his eyes water more and that he ends up coughing more.
“Every time I'm in India, I notice my eyes water more, I blow my nose more and people in general cough more. My parents always said these were 'allergies' but whenever they come to visit me in the US, they miraculously disappear,” said Das, who is based in San Francisco. “We live in denial of a massive health crisis.”
Also read: Delhi: 50% of govt employees to work from home due to 'severe' air pollution
Post after attending Delhi wedding
Das attended a wedding in Delhi last week and recounted a conversation about the poor quality of air. “I was at a wedding in Delhi where one side was American. When asked about India, they were polite at first,” he said.
“When I got to know them though, they said 'yeah the air is crazy here I'm trying to be careful. I don't know if it's safe to even workout',” Das said, recalling the chat.
The former Google engineer, who did his schooling in Kolkata, moved to the United States for college.
In another post in the same thread on X, Das said surviving tough conditions such as poor air quality should not be seen as a symbol of strength and pride, but rather as a cause for concern and alarm.
“The narrative that “only Delhi winters are bad” is ridiculous. People in the ‘clean’ city of Bangalore also cough all the time, have clogged noses and a long list of “allergies”. I lived there for a year and can attest to that,” Das said.
Also read: Delhi pollution: Hospitals told to set up special teams for respiratory cases
Faces backlash from users
Even as a number of people, including a few NRIs, agreed with the points made by Das, a section of users slammed him for his post on India. A user went to the extent of blaming Das' “weak immunity”.
To those flaying him for his views, Das tweeted, “I want to remind those calling me out for criticising India – most Indians agree with this take — I criticize the US as well but it prolly doesn’t show up on your timeline — I just call out things that I see. I have no beef with the country. I want its problems to be fixed.”
The first post in the thread got over 1.9 million views, 28,000 'likes' and over 1,000 replies.