Sabeer Bhatia faces backlash for 'insensitive' post after Air India crash. Here's how he responded

As India reeled from one of its worth aviation tragedies in recent memory, tech entrepreneur and Hotmail co-founder Sabeer Bhatia found him at the centre of a social media firestorm. The backlash stemmed over a post that many users condemned as "insensitive" and "ill-timed."

On Thursday, Air India Dreamliner Flight AI-171 en route to London Gatwick crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, slamming into a medical college hostel and triggering a massive fire. The catastrophe claimed 241 lives out of 242 passengers and crew members on board.

Among the victim was former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, confirmed a BJP leader. The sole survivor, a British national named Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, was found near the wreckage and was rescued by locals.

In the immediate aftermath of the crash, Bhatia took to X and posted, "Do you really think the 4th largest economy in the world should still be having plane crashes due to systemic failures? Time to question what truly makes a nation great."

The post went viral, racking up over two million views - and an avalanche of criticism. Social media users from India and abroad slammed the timing and tone of Bhatia's comment, calling it an opportunistic attempt to politicise a national tragedy.

“Such an insensitive comment. Recently the US had a plane crash. Were you also this callous then?” asked one user. Another wrote, “You’re mocking your own country while families haven’t even identified the bodies yet. What grudge do you hold against India?”

Many pointed out that aviation accidents are a global issue, and framed Bhatia’s comments as unfairly targeting India. “Plane crashes happen in every country. Air travel is still statistically the safest mode of transport. Your comment was unnecessary and disgraceful,” said one post.

Referencing a recent mid-air collision over the Potomac River in the U.S., another user questioned, “Was that a systemic failure too? Or is this scrutiny reserved only for India?”

As criticism mounted, Bhatia issued a clarification in a follow-up post, defending his original remarks while claiming his intentions were misunderstood.

"Of course I’m deeply saddened and devastated by the loss of life. But that distracts from the real question: Why did it happen and what can we do as a society to prevent it from ever happening again?” he wrote.

Responding to the intensity of reactions, Bhatia added, "In all the angry replies I'm getting, people are responding as if their own families were on the plane. Telling me to put my phone down. So much hate, so much emotion. Where's the logic? Do you really go through life like it's a Bollywood movie?"

He further dismissed accusations of harbouring a colonial mindset: “In the past few days of vitriolic backlash, I keep hearing the term ‘colonial mindset’ - as if the West looks down on India. That’s simply untrue. What shocks people in the West isn’t India - it’s the poor decisions of its leaders.”

Bhatia concluded by clarifying that his anger was directed at institutional failures, not the victims.

Despite the social media storm and calls for apology, Bhatia has not taken down the original post.