{"id":6866,"date":"2026-04-21T04:44:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T20:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/?p=6866"},"modified":"2026-04-21T04:44:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T20:44:00","slug":"know-namita-thapar-why-the-shark-tank-india-judge-is-in-the-spotlight-over-namaz-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/?p=6866","title":{"rendered":"Know Namita Thapar: Why the Shark Tank India judge is in the spotlight over Namaz controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p> <div> <p>Namita Thapar, Executive Director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals, is once again in the spotlight\u2014this time over a social media controversy that has sparked debate on religion and free speech.\u00a0<\/p> <p>The entrepreneur recently faced intense trolling after she posted a video highlighting the health benefits of namaz, describing it as a practice that supports flexibility, digestion, and mental well-being.<\/p> <p>As the backlash intensified, Thapar responded with a strongly worded video, revealing the extent of abuse she and her family received online. She said she had been subjected to weeks of personal attacks and questioned why similar outrage was not seen when she spoke about Hindu practices like yoga or Surya Namaskar.\u00a0<\/p> <p>Calling out what she described as \u201cselective outrage,\u201d Thapar emphasised that her comments were rooted in wellness, not religion. She also underlined the need for equal respect across faiths, adding that staying silent in the face of abuse is no longer an option.\u00a0<\/p> <p>The episode has once again brought attention to how public figures navigate religious discourse and online toxicity, especially in an increasingly polarised digital space.<\/p> <p><b>From pharma boardrooms to prime-time fame<\/b><\/p> <p>Born in Pune in 1977, Thapar is part of a business family\u2014her father Satish Mehta founded Emcure Pharmaceuticals.<\/p> <p>A Chartered Accountant and MBA graduate from Duke University\u2019s Fuqua School of Business, she began her career in the United States before returning to India to join the family business.<\/p> <p>Over the years, she has played a key role in expanding Emcure\u2019s domestic and global operations. The company today has a presence\u00a0in over 70 countries, making it one of India\u2019s significant pharmaceutical players.<\/p> <p><b>The \u2018Shark\u00a0Tank India\u2019 effect<\/b><\/p> <p>Thapar\u2019s public profile rose sharply with her role as a judge-investor on Shark Tank India. Known for her cautious investment style and focus on sustainable growth, she has backed dozens of startups across sectors.<\/p> <p><b>Her business empire, investments and ventures<\/b><\/p> <p>Beyond her executive role, Thapar has built a wide-ranging investment portfolio across consumer brands, healthtech, edtech, and emerging technology\u2014making her one of India\u2019s most active angel investors. She has backed over 100 startups, both on and off Shark Tank India, reflecting a strong presence in the country\u2019s startup ecosystem.<\/p> <p>According to Plantify, her investment strategy shows a clear tilt towards consumer-focused and impact-driven businesses. Some of the notable companies she has invested in include Sugar Cosmetics, Haqdarshak, Skippi Ice Pops, Bummer, Auli Lifestyle\u00a0and Menstrupedia.<\/p> <p>Her portfolio also includes health and tech-led ventures such as MeduLance, Janitri, NEMA AI\u00a0and FlexifyMe, signalling a strong preference for scalable, problem-solving startups.<\/p> <p>Alongside larger bets, she has backed several early-stage brands emerging from Shark Tank pitches, often combining capital with mentorship and visibility.<\/p> <p>Thapar has also founded and led ventures of her own, including Thapar Entrepreneur Academy and Incredible Ventures Pvt Ltd, which focus on training school and college students in business and leadership skills.<\/p> <p><b>A business leader in the age of visibility<\/b><\/p> <p>With an estimated net worth of around \u20b9600 crore, Thapar primarily derives her income from her role as Executive Director at Emcure Pharmaceuticals. In addition, she earns through multiple revenue streams, including her entrepreneurial ventures, appearances and earnings from\u00a0<i>Shark Tank India<\/i>, and returns from her extensive startup investment portfolio.\u00a0<\/p> <\/div> <p>Namita Thapar, Emcure Pharmaceuticals, social media controversy, namaz health benefits, online trolling India, religious respect India, Shark Tank India investor, Indian entrepreneur, startup investments, Indian pharma industry#Namita #Thapar #Shark #Tank #India #judge #spotlight #Namaz #controversy1776717840<\/p> ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Namita Thapar, Executive Director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals, is once again in the spotlight\u2014this time over a social media controversy that has sparked debate on religion and free speech.\u00a0 The entrepreneur recently faced intense trolling after she posted a video highlighting the health benefits of namaz, describing it as a practice that supports flexibility, digestion, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6867,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9587,14665,200,25628,25630,25631,25632,25624,8926,2476,25625,25626,2488,25627,25623,7652,25629,1829,25622],"class_list":["post-6866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-content-marketing","tag-controversy","tag-emcure-pharmaceuticals","tag-india","tag-indian-entrepreneur","tag-indian-pharma-industry","tag-judge","tag-namaz","tag-namaz-health-benefits","tag-namita","tag-namita-thapar","tag-online-trolling-india","tag-religious-respect-india","tag-shark","tag-shark-tank-india-investor","tag-social-media-controversy","tag-spotlight","tag-startup-investments","tag-tank","tag-thapar"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6866\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}