A dispute over the aroma of a traditional Indian dish has ended with a $200,000 settlement for a couple of Indian PhD students at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Aditya Prakash and his fiancée Urmi Bhattacheryya alleged they faced a series of “microaggressions and retaliatory actions” from the university after a staff member objected to Prakash heating up his lunch of palak paneer – a popular north Indian dish made with pureed spinach and paneer cheese – in a campus microwave.
The couple filed a civil rights lawsuit against the university in 2025, claiming they lost their research funding, teaching roles and PhD advisers due to discriminatory treatment and a “pattern of escalating retaliation.” The university denied liability but settled the case in September 2025, agreeing to grant the students their degrees while banning them from studying or working there in the future.
Prakash says the lawsuit was not about the money, but about “making a point – that there are consequences to discriminating against Indians for their ‘Indianness’.” The incident has sparked a wider conversation around “food racism” faced by Indian and other minority communities in the West, with many sharing their own experiences of being shamed or ostracised over their food habits.
The couple claim they never received a meaningful apology from the university, and have since returned to India, saying they may never go back to the US. “No matter how good you are at what you do, the system is constantly telling you that because of your skin colour or your nationality, you can be sent back any time,” Prakash says.
The University of Colorado, Boulder said it was “committed to fostering an inclusive environment” and that it had taken the allegations seriously and followed “established, robust processes” to address them. However, the institution did not respond to the BBC’s question about whether the couple had received an apology.
This case highlights the persistent issues of racial discrimination and cultural insensitivity that many minority groups continue to face, even in ostensibly progressive academic institutions. As the world becomes more interconnected, universities must strive to truly embrace diversity and ensure all students feel welcomed and respected, regardless of their backgrounds or culinary preferences.
