Colonial remark upsets FB boss

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday disapproved comments of his board member Marc Andreessen that suggested India would have been better off under colonial rule.

“I want to respond to Marc Andreessen’s comments about India yesterday. I found the comments deeply upsetting, and they do not represent the way Facebook or I think at all. India has been personally important to me and Facebook,” said Mr Zuckerberg in a social media post.

Mr Zuckerberg again reiterated comments that a trip to India helped him at a difficult time in the company’s history.

Mr Andreessen on Wednesday kicked off a controversy on the social media by suggesting that India’s decision to bar discriminatory tariffs for data services is “anticolonialist” idea and the country would suffer “economically catastrophic” due to this.

“Anti- colonialism has been economically catastrophic for the Indian people for decades. Why stop now?,” tweeted Mr Andreessen. However, after an uproar in the social media Mr Andreessen deleted his controversial tweets.

Mr Zuckerberg tried to distance from Mr Andreessen comments. “As our community in India has grown, I’ve gained a deeper appreciation for the need to understand India’s history and culture. I’ve been inspired by how much progress India has made in building a strong nation and the largest democracy in the world, and I look forward to strengthening my connection to the country,” he added.