‘Palak paneer’ row: Indian PhD students secure Rs 1.66 crore settlement in US campus discrimination case

A serving of palak paneer, at the centre of a US campus dispute has ended in a ₹1.66 crore settlement.

A disagreement over reheating Indian food on a US university campus snowballed into a high-stakes civil rights battle that ended with two Indian doctoral scholars securing a Rs 1.66 crore settlement, exposing the fault lines of cultural bias in American academia.

According to a report in The Indian Express, the controversy began in September 2023 at the University of Colorado Boulder, when Aditya Prakash, a PhD student from Bhopal, was stopped by a staff member from reheating palak paneer in a shared microwave, allegedly due to its “strong smell”. Prakash objected, arguing that food preferences and perceptions of odour are culturally shaped.

“My food is my pride. What smells good or bad is not universal, it’s culturally determined,” Prakash was quoted as saying. He also reportedly questioned comparisons drawn by university officials with restrictions on foods like broccoli. “Context matters. How many communities face racism because they eat broccoli?” he asked.

The incident marked a turning point in what had until then been a smooth academic journey. Both said the first year of their doctoral programmes passed without any issues. Prakash received research grants and institutional funding, while Urmi Bhattacharya, 35, from Kolkata, earned academic recognition for her work on marital rape.

Bhattacharya alleged that soon after the food-related episode of Prakash, she lost her teaching assistantship without prior notice or explanation. She also said that when she and other students brought Indian food to campus again two days later, they were accused of “inciting a riot”. Those complaints were eventually dismissed, she added.

Prakash and Bhattacharya claimed the actions amounted to retaliation after they raised concerns about discrimination. They later filed a civil rights lawsuit in a US federal court, arguing that informal food restrictions and subsequent disciplinary measures disproportionately targeted South Asian students.

In a significant outcome, the university reportedly agreed to a settlement worth USD 200,000, approximately Rs 1.66 crore, without admitting liability. As part of the agreement, both scholars were awarded Master’s degrees that they said had been denied amid the dispute. However, the settlement bars them from returning to the university as students or staff.