>why the bitterness
Because I'm yet to see a more primed-for-PR CSR initiative. At least from a startup. Much as I'd like to perceive it as being well-intentioned, it smacks of being the brainchild of a PR agency ("snapdeal.com Nagar" anyone?), which is all kinds of wrong. I'd have been just as indignant if it were Groupon or Facebook that pulled this off.
>their action is "unexpected" and perhaps more newsworthy as a result
There's a not-so-fine-line between innovative PR and inappropriate opportunism, and a responsible company would know better than to cross it. And that's the beauty of this issue - you're damned if you take a stand against it, because "they did help a poor village after all". If, as a business, you really wish to be an ameliorating influence, do it quietly - don't pimp poverty for PR. There are always other ways to grab eyeballs.
>as a fellow Indian (Indian-American), I always find it curious and somewhat unfortunate that there is a contingent of "the tribe" that can't just be happy when others in the "the tribe" do well.
That I'm afraid, is the classic ad hominem. Please read the parent comment once again and point out one instance where I've expressed disdain or envy for the company / the founder's success. As I've already said, I'd have been just as enraged had this been any other company from any other country. That you would confuse indignation at a dodgy PR stunt with envy for a fellow Indian baffles me.