Overview
- Aditya Prakash says a staff member objected to the smell of his palak paneer on Sept. 5, 2023 and told him not to use a departmental microwave.
- In May 2025, Prakash and partner Urmi Bhattacharyya filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging a pattern of retaliation, including repeated summons, “unsafe” accusations, and a lost teaching assistantship.
- The complaint challenged a kitchen policy the students said disproportionately targeted South Asians and discouraged Indian students from opening lunches in shared spaces.
- In Sept. 2025, the university settled for $200,000, conferred Master’s degrees, and barred the pair from future enrollment or employment; a spokesperson denied liability and said procedures were followed.
- The couple returned to India this month, citing visa insecurity and fear of further retaliation, as 29 peers’ earlier statement backing them kept focus on food-based discrimination on campus.