The Indian Couple Who Won a $200,000 Settlement Over 'Food Racism' at US University

Aditya Prakash and Urmi Bhattacharyya, PhD students engaged in research, faced harassment from a staff member at the University of Colorado after they complained about the smell of Prakah's lunch - palak paneer, a traditional Indian dish - in a microwave. This incident led to a civil rights lawsuit alleging systemic discrimination, including "microagressions" and retaliation.

On September 5th, 2019, Prakash was told by the staff member that his lunch was pungent when he was warming it in a department microwave. They later found out there was a rule against heating food with strong smells, which they found discriminative. This led to several actions by the university including loss of teaching positions and research funding.

In May 2105, they filed a lawsuit against the university for $200k00 in compensation, but the university denied liability. The couple received Master's Degrees but were barred from enrollment or employment.

Their experience sparked media attention and discussion about "food racism," and discrimination in Western institutions. Critics pointed out that this is not limited to the US, as cultural biases exist in India too. Prakash said that the lawsuit was not just about money, but about making a statement that there are consequences for discriminating against people for their "Indianness."

This incident has raised awareness and highlighted the need for more inclusive policies in education to prevent future incidents.