A significant legal settlement has been reached between the University of Colorado at Boulder and two former doctoral students, highlighting contentious issues around cultural sensitivity and workplace discrimination. Aditya Prakash and his fiancée Urmi Bhattacheryya, both Indian citizens pursuing PhDs in cultural anthropology, have been awarded a combined $200,000 after alleging they faced retaliation following complaints about microwaving Indian food in a shared office kitchen.
The Pungent Palak Paneer Incident
The dispute originated in September 2023 when Prakash was heating his lunch of palak paneer in the anthropology department's communal microwave. An administrative assistant reportedly commented, "Oof, that's pungent," and informed him of an unwritten rule against preparing strong-smelling foods. When Prakash questioned which foods were permissible, he claims he was told sandwiches were acceptable but curry was not.
"This is precisely the kind of remark that makes many Indians living in Western countries hesitant to open their lunches in shared spaces," Prakash explained. The encounter escalated when he expressed his discomfort with the comment, leading to what he described as shouting from the staff member.
Deliberate Protest and Swift Consequences
Two days after the initial incident, Prakash and Bhattacheryya joined three other students in deliberately reheating Indian food in the same microwave as a form of protest. What followed, according to their federal lawsuit, was "a pattern of escalating retaliation" from the university administration.
The anthropology department subsequently circulated an email advising members to avoid foods with "strong or lingering smells." Prakash responded to the entire department, calling the suggestion discriminatory and questioning why it was acceptable for another employee to heat chili in a crockpot. When someone suggested broccoli would also be inappropriate, Prakash retorted: "How many groups of people do you know that face racism on a daily basis because they eat broccoli?"
Academic Standing Collapses
Over the following year, the couple allege their academic standing deteriorated dramatically without warning. According to court documents, faculty advisers dropped them unexpectedly, they were reassigned to advisers outside their fields, denied course credit transfers, stripped of teaching assistantships, and ultimately lost their doctoral funding.
"We were 4.0 G.P.A. students," Prakash stated. "And the department at every level started trying to sabotage us and started trying to paint us as somehow maladjusted." The university cited poor performance and unmet requirements, which the couple strongly disputed.
Legal Action and Settlement Terms
In May 2025, Prakash and Bhattacheryya filed a civil-rights lawsuit in US District Court in Denver, alleging discrimination and retaliation. By September, the university agreed to settle the case for $200,000 while denying any liability. As part of the agreement, the couple received their master's degrees but are permanently barred from studying or working at the university in the future.
The University of Colorado Boulder issued a statement saying federal privacy laws prevented discussing specifics but insisted they acted appropriately. "When these allegations arose in 2023, we took them seriously and adhered to established, robust processes to address them, as we do with all claims of discrimination and harassment," the statement read.
Broader Cultural Implications
Prakash told media outlets the lawsuit was never primarily about financial compensation. "It was about making a point - that there are consequences to discriminating against Indians for their 'Indianness'," he explained. The microwave incident reopened childhood wounds for Prakash, who recalled being isolated by classmates in Italy as a teenager because of Indian food smells in his lunchbox.
Food studies scholar Krishnendu Ray of New York University noted that complaints about smell have historically been used to mark groups as inferior. "In some ways, this kind of thing happens whenever there is an encounter across class, race and ethnicity," Ray observed, drawing parallels with how Italian immigrants were once derided in the US for smelling of garlic and wine.
International Repercussions and Personal Impact
The case has attracted significant attention in India, where many have shared similar experiences of being ridiculed abroad over food smells. The incident has also sparked conversations about comparable discrimination within India itself regarding regional cuisines and cultural practices.
The engaged couple have since returned to India and say they may never return to the United States. "No matter how good you are at what you do, the system is constantly telling you that because of your skin color or your nationality, you can be sent back any time," Prakash reflected. "The precarity is acute."
Bhattacheryya, who was pursuing her PhD in cultural anthropology and working as a teaching assistant, reported facing racist abuse online after discussing the incident publicly. Both former students maintain that their treatment represents a broader pattern of cultural insensitivity that extends beyond isolated kitchen disputes to fundamental questions about inclusion and belonging in academic institutions.
