'No Need For...': Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal Slams 'Pronoun Illness', Netizens React
Bhavish Aggarwal's comments drew sharp criticism from netizens. Many users pointed out the importance of respecting pronouns and inclusivity.
Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal on Sunday slammed the pronoun usage 'they' which he says is "perpetuated in India by MNCs". In a recent post, Aggarwal shared a screenshot of a conversation with a LinkedIn AI bot, circling the pronouns used by the bot. He referred to the practice of specifying pronouns as "pronoun illness" and spoke about its growing presence in "big city schools" and on resumes.
In a post on X, Aggarwal wrote, "Most of us in India have no clue about the politics of this pronouns illness. People do it because it’s become expected in our corporate culture, especially MNCs. Better to send this illness back where it came from. Our culture has always had respect for all. No need for new pronouns."
"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!", he added.
Aggarwal said the usage of "they" is perpetuated in India by MNCs without Indians even realising it.
Aggarwal's comments drew sharp criticism from netizens. Many users pointed out the importance of respecting pronouns and inclusivity. Several took to directly correcting the AI chatbots themselves saying that AI does not know the gender of the person. A few users also came out in support of the Krutrim AI founder. Here are some responses:
What Is 'They' Pronoun?
The usage of 'they' has been around for centuries, but it's become more common recently as awareness of gender identity has grown. Major style guides now accept 'they' as a singular pronoun. 'They' allows people to refer to someone without assuming their gender. This is especially important for non-binary people, whose identity does not fit neatly into 'man' or 'woman'.
