Amidst loud cheers, India recently dismissed Facebook’s attempt to introduce Free Basics to the country. And while Mark Zuckerberg must’ve cried on the inside, he did manage to conceal his disappointment to a great extent.

However, Facebook board member and Silicon Valley major Marc Andreessen wasn’t so subtle.
Probably disappointed at India’s decision to dismiss Free Basics, Marc took to Twitter to vent his frustration.
And effectively managed to offend the entire nation in the process.

In the above mentioned tweet, Marc actually asserted that India would’ve been better off had it been still under colonial rule and that fighting ‘anti-colonial’ notions such as net neutrality would only bring economic misery to the country.
*Facepalm*

As expected, people were quick to react to his tweet.
Now @facebook Board Director @pmarca suggests being colonized was good for India & we should’ve let Fb do so:) pic.twitter.com/kq7ZsNTQGl
— Mahesh Murthy (@maheshmurthy) February 10, 2016
Marc thought that deleting the tweet would work. But this is the internet, bro. Nothing gets deleted. Ever.
Looks like @pmarca has deleted his ‘anti-colonialism has been economically catastrophic for India’ tweet. Hope he is regretting. Apologies?
— Raju (@rajupp) February 10, 2016
Ironically, Tim Berners-Lee, the founder of the World Wide Web lauded India’s decision to refute Free Basics and stand for net neutrality.
Well done India! passes strong #netneutrality rules, stands up for open Web. See @webfoundation -> https://t.co/CvahcQYNtd #savetheinternet
— Tim Berners-Lee (@timberners_lee) February 8, 2016
After receiving all the flak, Marc decided to do some damage control.
I hereby withdraw from all future discussions of Indian economics or politics. 😀 Carry on…
— Marc Andreessen (@pmarca) February 10, 2016
And finally decided to put some sense into his tweets.
And for the record, I am opposed to colonialism, in any country. https://t.co/3ommgZssMm
— Marc Andreessen (@pmarca) February 10, 2016
Perhaps you should go back to admiring Indian mustard oil brands, Marc.
@pmarca @aparanjape @vgr Learn from P Mark Mustard Oil Marketing. pic.twitter.com/kYSOYfuP9L
— Pranav Hundekari (@PranavHundekari) February 10, 2016