'Will not be in active politics': Zoho's Sridhar Vembu lays out his life's agenda
Vembu said he intends to devote his life to deep technical work rather than politics
- Jan 12, 2026,
- Updated Jan 12, 2026 12:30 PM IST
Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu on Monday ruled out entering active electoral politics, saying his "single point agenda in life" is to make Bharat technologically strong and self-reliant — a goal he believes is central to economic prosperity, rural revival, and civilisational renewal.
"My single point agenda in life is to make Bharat a technologically strong and self-reliant nation, which I see as critical to our economic prosperity as well as our rural and civilisational revival," Vembu said in a post on X.
He argued that India must demonstrate an alternative model of growth to the world. "Our civilisation has to show the world through living example how to combine prosperity with humility and contentment, and show the sustainable path to harmonize humanity and the natural world," he said.
Zoho is based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, which is headed for the Assembly polls in April–May 2026.
Vembu, who stepped down as CEO in January 2025 to focus on R&D, pointed to what he described as deep psychological scars left by centuries of foreign domination, saying these continue to shape national attitudes.
"Our past 1000-year history has left us deep civilisational wounds and the defeatist, colonial mindset is one of them," he said, adding that global technological excellence is essential to rebuilding national confidence.
"Being world-class in technology is the key to restoring true pride in ourselves as a nation, and building that technology with rural talent spreads the wealth across society," he said.
Positioning research and development as the core of that mission, Vembu said he intends to devote his life to deep technical work rather than politics. "We need people to do deep work in R&D. I have some skill in this area, and that is the best use of my life for our nation," he said.
While underscoring the importance of civic participation, Vembu drew a clear line on electoral ambitions. "I view politics as public service and as a democratic duty in which citizens must be involved, but given my overriding priority in life, I cannot be and will not be in active electoral politics," he said.
On Saturday, Vembu attended the Maheshwari Global Convention in Jodhpur, where he interacted with young entrepreneurs and reflected on his own educational journey. "I am in Jodhpur for the Maheshwari Global Convention event, and I am talking to young entrepreneurs from the community today," he wrote.
Recalling his early life, Vembu said he studied in Chennai at a government-aided free Tamil-medium school funded by philanthropist Jaigopal Garodia. "I studied in Chennai in a government-aided free Tamil medium school funded by the late Shri Jaigopal Garodia-ji," he wrote, recounting how Garodia rose from poverty in Rajasthan to business success and donated his entire wealth to education.
"He donated all his wealth to his charitable foundation that has funded education generously. A lot of schools in Chennai, particularly schools that poor and lower middle class kids attend, have been funded by him. I owe him a huge debt of gratitude," Vembu said.
He said his message to young entrepreneurs was to view long-term research investments as a continuation of social service. "My goal today is to urge the entrepreneurs to invest in long-term patient R&D projects and think of it as the continuation of the educational and social service to the nation that entrepreneurs from Rajasthan are so famous for," he said.
Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu on Monday ruled out entering active electoral politics, saying his "single point agenda in life" is to make Bharat technologically strong and self-reliant — a goal he believes is central to economic prosperity, rural revival, and civilisational renewal.
"My single point agenda in life is to make Bharat a technologically strong and self-reliant nation, which I see as critical to our economic prosperity as well as our rural and civilisational revival," Vembu said in a post on X.
He argued that India must demonstrate an alternative model of growth to the world. "Our civilisation has to show the world through living example how to combine prosperity with humility and contentment, and show the sustainable path to harmonize humanity and the natural world," he said.
Zoho is based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, which is headed for the Assembly polls in April–May 2026.
Vembu, who stepped down as CEO in January 2025 to focus on R&D, pointed to what he described as deep psychological scars left by centuries of foreign domination, saying these continue to shape national attitudes.
"Our past 1000-year history has left us deep civilisational wounds and the defeatist, colonial mindset is one of them," he said, adding that global technological excellence is essential to rebuilding national confidence.
"Being world-class in technology is the key to restoring true pride in ourselves as a nation, and building that technology with rural talent spreads the wealth across society," he said.
Positioning research and development as the core of that mission, Vembu said he intends to devote his life to deep technical work rather than politics. "We need people to do deep work in R&D. I have some skill in this area, and that is the best use of my life for our nation," he said.
While underscoring the importance of civic participation, Vembu drew a clear line on electoral ambitions. "I view politics as public service and as a democratic duty in which citizens must be involved, but given my overriding priority in life, I cannot be and will not be in active electoral politics," he said.
On Saturday, Vembu attended the Maheshwari Global Convention in Jodhpur, where he interacted with young entrepreneurs and reflected on his own educational journey. "I am in Jodhpur for the Maheshwari Global Convention event, and I am talking to young entrepreneurs from the community today," he wrote.
Recalling his early life, Vembu said he studied in Chennai at a government-aided free Tamil-medium school funded by philanthropist Jaigopal Garodia. "I studied in Chennai in a government-aided free Tamil medium school funded by the late Shri Jaigopal Garodia-ji," he wrote, recounting how Garodia rose from poverty in Rajasthan to business success and donated his entire wealth to education.
"He donated all his wealth to his charitable foundation that has funded education generously. A lot of schools in Chennai, particularly schools that poor and lower middle class kids attend, have been funded by him. I owe him a huge debt of gratitude," Vembu said.
He said his message to young entrepreneurs was to view long-term research investments as a continuation of social service. "My goal today is to urge the entrepreneurs to invest in long-term patient R&D projects and think of it as the continuation of the educational and social service to the nation that entrepreneurs from Rajasthan are so famous for," he said.