Daijiworld Media Network - Boulder

Boulder, Jan 19: What began as a routine lunch break turned into a prolonged legal battle for two Indian doctoral students in the United States, eventually ending with their departure from the country and a $200,000 (approximately Rs 1.80 crore) settlement with the University of Colorado Boulder.

The incident dates back to September 5, 2023, when Aditya Prakash, then a fully funded PhD student in anthropology at the university, was heating his lunch — palak paneer — in a shared departmental microwave. According to Prakash, a staff member objected to the “smell”, described it as “pungent” and asked him not to use the facility.

“She said it was pungent. I calmly told her, ‘It’s just food. I’m heating it and leaving,’” Prakash, now 34, recalled.

Prakash and his partner, fellow PhD student Urmi Bhattacheryya, later alleged that the episode marked the beginning of a pattern of discrimination and retaliation by the university. Two years later, in September 2025, the university reached a settlement with the couple following a federal civil rights lawsuit, agreeing to pay them $200,000 and confer Master’s degrees on both. Under the agreement, however, they are barred from future enrolment or employment at the university.

Earlier this month, the couple returned to India permanently.

In their lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the District of Colorado, Prakash and Bhattacheryya alleged that after Prakash raised concerns about discriminatory treatment, the university “engaged in a pattern of escalating retaliation”. They cited a departmental kitchen policy that they said had a “disproportionate and discriminatory impact on ethnic groups like South Asians”, creating an atmosphere where Indian students felt anxious about opening their lunches in shared spaces.

“The discriminatory treatment and ongoing retaliation caused us emotional distress, mental anguish, and pain and suffering,” the lawsuit stated.

Prakash said the situation deteriorated rapidly after the incident, with repeated summons to meetings with senior faculty, allegations that he had made staff “feel unsafe”, and complaints lodged against him with the Office of Student Conduct.

Bhattacheryya, 35, alleged that she lost her teaching assistantship without prior notice or explanation. She further claimed that when she and other students brought Indian food to campus two days after the incident, they were accused of “inciting a riot”. Those complaints were later dismissed, she said.

Prakash, who hails from Bhopal, and Bhattacheryya, from Kolkata, said their first year in the doctoral programme had passed without incident. Prakash had secured grants and funding, while Bhattacheryya’s research on marital rape had been well received. Both said they had invested their life savings to pursue higher education in the US.

“Everything changed overnight after that food-heating episode,” Prakash said. “My food is my pride. Ideas about what smells good or bad are culturally determined.”

He questioned arguments comparing Indian food to other odorous foods. “Context matters. How many groups face racism because they eat broccoli?” he asked.

The couple also received support from 29 fellow anthropology students, who issued a statement backing them and describing the response to Indian food as “harmful” and discriminatory. The students cited the department’s own stance on systemic racism, stating that diversity should be “celebrated, not merely tolerated”.

Bhattacheryya said action against her followed after she invited Prakash to speak in a class on ethnocentrism about his lived experience, without naming individuals or detailing the incident.

By May 2025, the couple filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging discrimination and retaliation. By the time a settlement was reached, both said they had no desire to return to the US.

“Going back would mean re-entering the same system, with the same visa precarity,” Prakash said, adding, “I don’t see myself going back.”

Bhattacheryya said their experience reflected a broader hardening of attitudes in the US amid political shifts following Donald Trump’s return to power. “Institutions talk about inclusion, but there is less patience for discomfort — especially when it comes from immigrants or people of colour,” she said.