New Delhi: Reheating palak paneer by two Indian PhD students Aditya Prakash and Urmi Bhattacheryya on the University of Colorado Boulder campus escalated
into a discrimination case, which led the duo to win a Rs 1.8 crore (USD 200,000) civil rights settlement. The case highlights the deep-rooted cultural biases in American academia.
What happened
According to a report in The Indian Express, on September 5, 2023, Prakash, a PhD student from Bhopal, was reheating his lunch of palak paneer in a microwave in the department, when a staff member reportedly asked him not to do so, complaining about the “pungent smell”. Prakash replied, “It’s just food. I am heating and leaving.”
The incident escalated, forcing 34-year-old Prakash and 35-year-old Bhattacheryya, from Kolkata, to file a civil lawsuit in the United States District Court for Colorado. In their complaint, they pointed out that the university “retaliated” after Prakash raised concerns about what he described as “discriminatory treatment”.
The duo also contended that departmental kitchen rules particularly targeted South Asians, dissuading them from opening their lunches in shared spaces.
“My food is my pride. What smells good or bad is not universal, it’s culturally determined,” Prakash was quoted as saying. He reportedly raised questions over comparisons drawn by university officials with restrictions on foods like broccoli. “Context matters. How many communities face racism because they eat broccoli?” he asked.
What the duo claimed
The duo said the first year of their PhD programmes went off without any problems. Prakash got research grants and institutional funding, while Bhattacheryya earned academic recognition for her research on marital rape.
Soon after the heating episode, Prakash alleged that he was repeatedly called to meetings with senior faculty over accusations that he had made staff “feel unsafe”. Bhattacheryya claimed she lost her teaching assistantship without prior notice or explanation. She added that when she and other students brought Indian food to campus again two days later, they were accused of “inciting a riot”.
What was the outcome of legal battle?
After the duo filed a civil rights lawsuit in a US federal court, the case dragged on for two years. The university finally agreed to pay the two Rs 1.8 crore (USD 200,000) in September 2025, but denied any liability. Under the settlement, both scholars were granted the Master’s degrees they claimed had been withheld during the legal case. But, the agreement bars them from returning to the university as students or staff.
