Why did this Indian-American techie confront Bill Gates and Satya Nadella on stage?

Microsoft’s 50th anniversary celebration in Washington on March 4 was unexpectedly interrupted when pro-Palestinian protesters, including two of the company’s own employees, voiced strong opposition to the tech giant’s alleged ties to Israeli military operations.

Among the protesters was Indian-American software engineer Vaniya Agrawal, who boldly confronted Microsoft’s leadership—Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, and Satya Nadella—during a panel discussion. “50,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been murdered with Microsoft technology. How dare you. Shame on all of you for celebrating on their blood,” Agrawal shouted.

“Shame on you all”

“Shame on you all. You’re all hypocrites,” she said, before another woman began escorting her out. Agarwal continued registering her protest even as some other employees attending the 50th anniversary event booed her out of the venue.

Bill Gates, Satya Nadella and Steve Ballmer waited in silence until she was escorted out, and then resumed their discussion without addressing the protest. Footage of Agrawal’s interruption has been widely circulated online. 

She further condemned the tech company’s reported $133 million cloud and AI contract with Israel’s Ministry of Defense. She was soon escorted out of the hall, while some of the employees at the event started booing.

In a follow-up email accessed by The Verge, Agrawal revealed her resignation from the company. “Hi all, my name is Vaniya, and after 1.5 years as a software engineer at this company, I’ve decided to leave Microsoft. My last day is next Friday, April 11,” she wrote. “You may have seen me stand up earlier today to call out Satya during his speech at the Microsoft 50th anniversary. Here’s why I decided to leave the company, and why I spoke up today.”