How 2 Indian PhD students won Rs 1.8 crore lawsuit in US over palak paneer row |
New Delhi: Reheating palak paneer by two Indian PhD students Aditya Prakash and Urmi Bhattacheryya on the University of Colorado Boulder campus escalated into a discrimination case, which led the duo to win a Rs 1.8 crore (USD 200,000) civil rights settlement. The case highlights the deep-rooted cultural biases in American academia.
According to a report in The Indian Express, on September 5, 2023, Prakash, a PhD student from Bhopal, was reheating his lunch of palak paneer in a microwave in the department, when a staff member reportedly asked him not to do so, complaining about the “pungent smell”. Prakash replied, “It’s just food. I am heating and leaving.”
The incident escalated, forcing 34-year-old Prakash and 35-year-old Bhattacheryya, from Kolkata, to file a civil lawsuit........