Elon Musk-owned Starlink India head Sanjay Bhargava quits; 'no time for endless meetings'

Elon Musk's satellite broadband company Starlink's India head Sanjay Bhargava has resigned from his post citing personal reasons. In a LinkedIn post, Bhargava announced his decision and revealed that his last day of service was 31 December 2021.

"I have stepped down as Country Director and Chairman of the Board of Starlink India for personal reasons. My last working day was December 31, 2021. I will have no comments for individuals and media so please respect my privacy," Bhargava wrote in his post shared on Tuesday, January 4.

It is worth mentioning, that the IIT Bombay alumna had just joined Starlink in October last year and was already in Starlink founder Elon Musk's good books. Bhargava was given recognition for his collective contributions with his wife Anita Kapur Bhargava for pushing low-cost internet services to rural areas of India. 

In a second post following his resignation, Sanjay Bhargava detailed what made him quit his job. In a rather philosophical post, Bhargava wrote that he has now 'realised' that he has not 'lived enough' and wants to change that. "I have no time for endless meetings where the statutes, rules and procedures, and internal regulations are discussed, knowing that nothing will be done," he wrote.

Bhargava's writings also reflected frustrations to some extent as he stated that he no longer has the "patience to stand absurd people who, despite their chronological age, have not grown up". Bhargava's resignation at such a short window comes as a shock as he was seemingly doing well and was winning the praises of his boss.

Musk pays respect to Bhargava for his contributions

Earlier in November, Musk had acknowledged Bhargava's efforts in serving the Indian rural communities and for his run in Musk's digital payments company PayPal. "Sanjay deserves a lot of credit for making X/PayPal succeed. Now helping SpaceX serve rural communities in India. Much respect”, the billionaire had written on Twitter.

Meanwhile, the satellite internet provider is yet to get licensed for offering services in India, although bookings for it have already begun in the country. However, India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had recently advised Indian customers to refrain from subscribing to Starlink as they are not yet authorised. 

(Image: AP/@sbharg/Twitter)