An American businessman-cum-blogger recently took to X claiming he couldn’t think of any field where India had achieved another “truly major” accomplishment. His remark sparked swift reactions online, with many calling it dismissive of India’s progress. Responding sharply, an Indian venture capitalist countered with facts. The rebuttal has since gone viral.
American blogger Charles Haywood’s remark on Indian achievements sparks online controversy
American businessman and blogger Charles Haywood triggered a storm of criticism after making a sweeping remark about India’s global contributions. In a post that has since gone viral, he questioned whether Indians had achieved anything of true significance in the modern era.
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He wrote,
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“Has a single (subcontinent) Indian ever accomplished anything of truly major note in the modern period, in any field? I can’t think of one. Nor can Grok. Seems odd, given there are 1.5 billion of them, and we’re told we need to accept endless waves of them for their ‘talent.’”
Check it out,
Has a single (subcontinent) Indian ever accomplished anything of truly major note in the modern period, in any field? I can’t think of one. Nor can Grok. Seems odd, given there are 1.5 billion of them, and we’re told we need to accept endless waves of them for their “talent.”
— Charles Haywood (@TheWorthyHouse) August 20, 2025
The statement was widely condemned on social media, with many calling it dismissive and uninformed. Among the responses, one notable rebuttal came from Indian entrepreneur Dilip Kumar, who countered Haywood’s claim with facts.
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Indian venture capitalist Dilip Kumar’s fact backed response
Reacting to Charles Haywood’s controversial remarks, venture capitalist Dilip Kumar listed out some of India’s most significant modern achievements.
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He began with India’s space milestone, writing,
“ISRO’s Chandrayaan 3 landed on the Moon’s south pole in 2023 and India is the first nation ever to do so. NASA hasn’t.”
Shifting focus to digital innovation, he highlighted India’s fintech revolution, stating,
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“UPI processes 10B+ transactions monthly in India. The US is still figuring out realtime payments.”
This, he pointed out, showed how India is leading the world in building scalable, modern payment systems.
Kumar then reminded Haywood of India’s Nobel laureates, directly addressing the “modern period” remark,
“Btw, in the modern period you asked? 4 Indians got Nobel Prize. Amartya Sen (1998, Economics). Venkatraman Ramakrishnan (2009, Chemistry). Kailash Satyarthi (2014, Peace), Abhijit Banerjee (2019, Economics).”
He wrapped up his response with a sharp conclusion, adding,
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“When you can’t see obvious contributions, it says less about Indians and more about your filters.”
The clarity and precision of his words were widely supported online, with many hailing it as a fitting, fact-backed rebuttal to Haywood’s dismissive claim.
Have a look at it,
ISRO’s Chandrayaan 3 landed on the Moon’s south pole in 2023 and India is the first nation ever to do so. NASA hasn’t. UPI processes 10B+ transactions monthly in India. The US is still figuring out realtime payments.
Btw, in the modern period you asked? 4 Indians got Nobel Prize.… https://t.co/GG7HvWNQZE— Dilip Kumar (@kmr_dilip) August 21, 2025
Widespread backlash on X follows Haywood’s comments
X users, most of whom were themselves established businessmen and entrepreneurs took to the comment section and reacted in myriad ways mostly talking about how pointless the words of Haywood are and its pointless and a waste of time to even respond to it. Many pointed out that its simply a rage-bait and nothing more. To say that netizens bashed Haywood left, right, and center would be a sheer understatement.
Have a look at some of the worth-checking out comments,
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They do this for payouts from @elonmusk
— Gaurav U. Gullaiya (@Gaurav_Gullaiya) August 21, 2025
Little Charles with his little Grok. You are going too far Dilip. I have accomplished more in my life than 10 generations of Haywoods could ever dream off. No point amplifying little Charles and his little opinions. Let him play with his AI friend.
— Chandan Ganwani (@chandan_ganwani) August 21, 2025
More the hate better the payout. Honestly we shouldn’t even bother.
— Bala Subramanian (@BalaOnX) August 21, 2025
You should never counter these morons. Total sum of contributions by Indians far exceed any known human population. Let’s just keep our heads down and build a great future for our brown kids.
— Ravi Krishnan (@krcnow) August 21, 2025
This is what happens when minions like Charles truly believe that artificial intelligence has surpassed human intelligence, which may be true in his case ! Charles, stop relying on Grok and update your knowledge of current affairs.
— Sendhil Kumar (@SendhilKumarv) August 23, 2025
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Charles is typical christian bigot who still believe in his race’s superiority! You can argue with a rational man, but not a racist bigot!
— Satyendra Bhardwaj (@satyadwaj) August 22, 2025
It’s an attempt to increase the Indians to use Grok to see what answer it comes up with. He is after India’s user base adoption on Grok. Nice try…:)
— Krunal (@krunalsangani) August 22, 2025
For context, Charles Haywood, an American businessman known for his far-right blog The Worthy House and post-liberal commentary, sparked the debate with his dismissive remarks on India’s achievements. On the other hand, Dilip Kumar, a venture capitalist with a background in technology and entrepreneurship, currently working with Zerodha-backed Rainmatter.
While Haywood’s statement drew widespread criticism, Kumar’s fact-backed response highlighted India’s progress and earned praise for setting the record straight. What are your thoughts? Do share via the comments below.
