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Ankur Warikoo Faces Backlash Over Telling Debt-Laden 25-Year-Old To Stop Taking Father’s Help

The viral exchange has become a proxy for wider tensions over student loans, visa sponsorship hurdles, parental support norms, mental health.

Overview

  • Warikoo posted a 25-year-old’s email on X and replied that he would refuse his dad’s money and “figure my s**t out,” calling the sender’s “mental health hit” a privilege.
  • He urged the writer to take odd jobs, internships or multiple roles so there would be no time to dwell on misery.
  • The email detailed a ₹40 lakh education loan, a ₹56,000 salary in Pune, a ₹45,000 EMI, and ₹20,000 monthly help from the father after a US master’s in 2022 and a return to India in July 2025.
  • The post went viral this week as many users condemned the advice as toxic or insensitive, while others defended it as tough love.
  • Coverage situates the episode within systemic strains on young graduates, including heavy loan burdens and scarce employer sponsorship in the US, and notes no retraction from Warikoo.