corporate india loves to parade itself as a meritocracy. Fancy glass offices, buzzing campuses, and the claim that “we hire from all castes.” Sure, the recruitment letters may look diverse, but the boardroom tells a different story — one dominated by the same old caste elite. Add to this the shadow of political ideology, and suddenly, your “tech company” isn’t just a service provider, it’s a potential extension of the RSS’s worldview. sridhar Vembu and Zoho embody this paradox — corporate success wrapped around ideological danger.
1. The Illusion of Diversity in Hiring
Let’s be clear: no company in india can function if it only hires Brahmins. They hire from all castes because they need manpower. But where does the caste line appear? In promotions. In leadership. Who gets to enter the boardroom? On paper, the workforce looks like India. In reality, the decision-making elite looks like a very specific india — and that’s where the caste ceiling hits.
2. The Skewed Boardroom Reality
Don’t take my word for it. Research published in Economic & Political Weekly and covered by The Print shows the same: India’s corporate boardrooms are overwhelmingly upper caste, overwhelmingly Hindu, overwhelmingly male. The diversity vanishes the moment you climb the ladder. This isn’t accidental — it’s systemic. It’s how power protects itself.
3. sridhar Vembu and His RSS Affection
Here’s where things get more dangerous. Vembu isn’t just another tech CEO. His closeness to the RSS is not hidden — it’s celebrated. And RSS isn’t just a cultural club; it’s an organisation that has historically opposed affirmative action, resisted social justice, and promoted an exclusionary idea of “nationhood.” So when you’re handing over your personal data to Zoho, you’re not just using an app. You’re participating in a political pipeline.
4. The American red Herring
Yes, America is no holy cow. Big Tech in the US has its own sins: surveillance, monopoly, and corporate greed. But here’s the difference — Sundar Pichai or jeff bezos aren’t cozying up to the RSS. They aren’t directly plugged into an organisation that treats social justice like a virus. In india, Vembu’s ideological proximity makes him a more immediate threat than Silicon Valley giants.
5. The Cost of Blind Trust
Every time we normalize this ideology-corporate nexus, we inch closer to a reality where data, jobs, and even careers are filtered through ideology. Today, it’s a CEO with RSS ties. Tomorrow, it’s your performance review shaped by your political silence. The danger isn’t far off — it’s already here.
🔥 Bottomline: corporate india hides behind meritocracy while running on caste hierarchies. sridhar Vembu hides behind “Made in India” pride while staying loyal to an ideology that rejects social justice. You can choose to trust Big Tech abroad, flawed as it is — but when you hand your data to Zoho, you’re not just giving it to a company, you’re giving it to the RSS.
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