Palak paneer to Rs 1.66 cr? Know how Bengal’s boys fought and won in US

What began as a disagreement over reheating an Indian meal on a US university campus escalated into a major civil rights case, ending with a Rs 1.66 crore settlement for two Indian doctoral students. Aditya Prakash and Urmi Bhattacheryya, former PhD scholars at the University of Colorado Boulder, accused the institution of discrimination and retaliation following a dispute over heating palak paneer in a campus kitchen.

The incident dates back to September 5, 2023, when Prakash was warming his lunch in a student microwave. A staff member objected to the smell of the food and asked him not to use the facility, calling the odour “pungent”. Prakash argued that food smells are culturally subjective and refused to comply, saying he was heating his meal briefly and would leave.

According to Prakash, the exchange marked the start of sustained institutional action against him. He was repeatedly summoned by senior faculty, accused of making staff feel unsafe, and faced a complaint before the Office of Student Conduct. He described this as a pattern of targeting that followed the kitchen incident.

Bhattacheryya alleged she was also affected after the episode. She claimed her teaching assistantship was terminated without notice or explanation, which she linked to her decision to invite Prakash to speak in a class discussion on ethnocentrism. She further alleged that students bringing Indian food to campus later were accused of causing unrest, though those complaints were eventually dismissed.

The couple decided to take legal action after the anthropology department refused to grant them Master’s degrees, typically awarded during a PhD programme. In May 2025, they filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging discrimination and retaliation, arguing that campus kitchen policies disproportionately impacted South Asian and other ethnic communities.

In September 2025, the university reached a settlement, paying $200,000 (around Rs 1.66 crore) and awarding both students their Master’s degrees, while denying any liability. As part of the agreement, Prakash and Bhattacheryya cannot seek future admission or employment at the university. The couple has since returned to India and said they have no plans to return to the US, describing the case as a stand against what they term “food racism”.