Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal has sparked a controversy on social media over his views on the usage of gender pronouns, labeling them as a “pronoun illness” and expressing apprehension that it may spread to India. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Aggarwal shared a screenshot of a response generated by LinkedIn’s AI chatbot, which employed “they” and “their” to refer to him. He commented that he hopes this “pronoun illness” remains isolated to certain circles and does not gain traction in India. Aggarwal further asserted that various “big city schools” in India have incorporated lessons on gender pronoun usage into their curricula.
Aggarwal contends that this trend is being driven by multinational corporations (MNCs) without adequate awareness or consensus among Indians. He added that he’s observed an increase in job applications that include pronoun preferences, and he questions where to draw the line when it comes to emulating Western practices.
The CEO’s comments have elicited mixed reactions online. Some users expressed agreement with Aggarwal’s sentiments, while others argued that respecting pronouns is a fundamental act of courtesy and inclusion, not an “illness.”
