Sundar Pichai speaks up against intolerance, says America must support Muslims

Google CEO Sundar Pichai is the latest to join the chorus of eminent public figures speaking up against intolerance towards Muslims in the wake of radical Islamist terror attacks and the polarised debates surrounding the US presidential elections. In a blog post, the India-born techie, who came to America as an immigrant himself, wrote that he felt dismayed about the "intolerant discourse" doing the rounds in American media.

Recounting his experience, first as an immigrant and then a citizen, Pichai writes: "My experience is obviously not unique. It’s been said a million times that America is the 'land of opportunity' for millions of immigrants, it’s not an abstract notion, but a concrete description of what we find here. America provided access to opportunities that simply didn’t exist for many of us before we arrived. That is why it’s so disheartening to see the intolerant discourse playing out in the news these days — statements that our country would be a better place without the voices, ideas and the contributions of certain groups of people, based solely on where they come from, or their religion."

The Google techie asked fellow Americans to uphold the values that make the land of opportunity: "Let’s not let fear defeat our values. We must support Muslim and other minority communities in the US and around the world." Read more here.

His post sends a strong message to Americans in the midst of the xenophobic discourse adopted by US presidential candidate Donald Trump, who called for a ban on Muslims' entry into the United States, and comes only two days after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg expressed his support for the community in a post on the social-networking website.