'I'm amazed at how...’: Nithin Kamath prefers ‘diverse’ India after multi-country visit to Europe—Here's why

Nithin Kamath, the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Indian brokerage firm Zerodha, recently took to social media to share his thoughts on India's vast diversity, contrasting it with the more uniform nature of several Western countries.

In a post shared on X on Tuesday, November 26, Kamath reflected on his travels across several European countries, noting how each country seemed “cut, copied, and paste” with only minimal differences. 

“I recently returned from visiting several countries in Europe. Everything feels like a cut, copy, and paste with very small differences,” said Kamath in his post on X.

He compared this with India, which he described as “more like a continent than a country” due to its rich diversity in terms of languages, food, culture, etc, often varying widely even within the same state. 

“In contrast, India is more like a continent than a country. The diversity in terms of languages, food, culture, etc., between the 28 states and within each state is nuts,” said Kamath. “Every time I think of this, I am amazed at how the country actually came together,” he said. 

This isn't the first time Kamath has spoken about India's diversity. In an earlier post from August 21, 2023, he highlighted the idea of India being “many countries in one,” saying that what works in one region may not be applicable in another. 

“I guess the right way to think of this is, India is many countries in one. What works in one state or region may not work in another,” he said.

“India has 140 crore people, and if X% can become customers because of Y% in a developed country, is a dangerous line of thinking for founders and investors,” said Kamath in August 2023. 

The earlier post also included a map of India, comparing the population of India to several other countries. 

Netizens React

Kamath's latest social media post sparked a wave of reactions from netizens, many of whom agreed with Kamath's take on India's unparalleled diversity.

“Despite being considered a single nation, India is home to many ethnic groups, each with unique customs and traditions, leading to huge cultural variations even within a single state,” said a netizen Amit Misra, responding to Kamath's post. “India has over 120 languages and 19,500 dialects spoken across the country,” he said. 

Others, like Amit Vankudre, delved into the philosophical aspect of India's diversity, discussing the acceptance of a variety of lifestyles, cultures, gods, etc., without any standardisation. 

“The core reason for this is the philosophy of ‘ekam sat vipraha bahudha vadanti’ i.e, wise men refer to the same truth in multiple ways. This is what allows us to accept a variety of lifestyles, cultures, gods, etc. We see a change every 50 kms. No theological standardization,” he said.