The Indian couple who won a $200,000 settlement over 'food racism' at US university
Quick Summary
Two Indian PhD students, Aditya Prakash and Urmi Bhattacheryya, received a $200,000 settlement from the University of Colorado, Boulder, after filing a civil rights lawsuit for racial discrimination. The conflict began in September 2023 when a staff member complained about the smell of Prakash's palak paneer, leading to a confrontation over an unwritten rule against "stinky food" like curry. Following this incident, the couple alleged they faced escalating repercussions, including the loss of research funding, teaching positions, and their PhD advisors. They filed the lawsuit in May 2025, and the university settled four months later without admitting fault, granting the students their degrees but banning them from future study or work there. The case ignited a broader conversation about "food racism," with many sharing similar experiences of being shamed for their cultural cuisine in Western countries and even within India. Prakash and Bhattacheryya, who sought to highlight systemic discrimination rather than financial gain, never received what they considered a sincere apology and ultimately moved back to India, feeling that the system constantly reminds immigrants of their foreign status regardless of their achievements.
It all started so simply: two Indian students just wanted to heat up their lunch. But that small thing ended up with a huge $200,000 payment to them after they fought a lawsuit.S.university for what...
It all started so simply: two Indian students just wanted to heat up their lunch.
But that small thing ended up with a huge $200,000 payment to them after they fought a lawsuit.S.university for what they call racial discrimination.Aditya Prakash and Urmi Bhattacheryya, who are engaged, shared with the BBC that they filed a civil rights lawsuit against the University of Colorado, Boulder.
This came after a series of small, unsettling actions and pushback grew out of one incident involving a microwave on campus.So, the lawsuit says that a spat started when a university staff member had a problem with Prakash warming up his palak paneer.The person working there was complaining about the really strong smell coming from the popular North Indian food.
It's that dish with puréed spinach and paneer cheese.Prakash heard there was some rule about not nuking stinky food, but he looked around and couldn't actually find it written down anywhere.When he asked what was okay, they told him a sandwich was fine, but curry wasn't.The university told the BBC they couldn't talk about the actual complaints because of privacy rules.
They did say, though, that they're really dedicated to having a welcoming place for everyone.So, when these claims came up in 2023, we really did take them seriously.
We just followed all our usual, strong procedures to deal with stuff like that, the university said.
They also mentioned, "We came to an agreement with the students back in September 2025, but we're clear that we're not admitting any fault here."Well, it looks like someone's playing a little game of "find the quote marks." Just one, though—that's a bit of an odd choice, isn't it?
Makes you curious what the idea was.
It's like finding a single, lonely breadcrumb in an otherwise empty cupboard.
It does make you wonder, "What's the rest of the story?"To Prakash, the lawsuit wasn't really about the money.He said he wanted to show everyone that if you treat Native Americans badly because of who they are, there are going to be problems.This case has really started a big talk in India about "food racism" in Western countries.
Lots of people are now sharing on social media how they've been made fun of just for what they eat.This isn't just an issue for people abroad.People in the comments brought up how discrimination over food is a big deal in India. Kids often can't bring non-vegetarian lunches to school. Plus, folks from lower castes or the northeastern states sometimes get a raw deal just because of what they cook with.Folks in places like Africa, Latin America, and other parts of Asia have talked about going through something similar – that feeling of being shamed for their food choices.Prakash and Bhattacheryya's trouble apparently started in September 2023.After the whole microwave incident, the couple, who are both PhD students in Anthropology, say things just got worse and worse for them.They mentioned losing their research money, their teaching gigs, and even their PhD advisors that they'd been with for months.They filed the lawsuit in May 2025, claiming discrimination.The university worked out a deal four months later, which is pretty standard when they want to skip a long, expensive court fight.The students got their degrees because of the settlement, but they can never again study or work at the university.Prakash shared that things like being separated from his European classmates or being told not to use a shared microwave because his food smelled a certain way really show how white people try to control what it means to be Indian and limit where you feel like you belong. He even remembers teachers in Italy making him sit at a different table during lunch when he was a kid.He says people have used food to put down different ethnic groups for a long time. He points out that the word "curry" has been turned into a way to insult people.Bhattacheryya mentioned that even well-known folks deal with this kind of thing. She brought up a social media post from 2024 where far-right activist Laura Loomer wrote that the White House "will smell like curry" if Kamala Harris were to become president.Loomer said her comment wasn't racist.Bhattacheryya said she faced consequences after inviting Prakash to speak to her anthropology class about cultural relativism.During the talk, Prakash talked about his experiences with food racism, including what happened with the palak paneer, but he didn't name any names.Later in 2024, she shared her family's experience with 'systemic racism' on X (which used to be Twitter). After that, a bunch of racist comments came her way, with people saying things like 'go back to India' and 'it's not just the food, many of you don't bathe.'The couple just wanted the university to actually hear them out, admit they messed up, and really try to make things right. But they say they never got a sincere apology.They ended up moving back to India and don't think they'll come back to the US."Prakash said, 'It doesn't matter how great you are at your job; the system always reminds you that your skin color or where you're from means you could be sent away at any moment.'"Things are really uncertain right now, and what we're going through at the university shows that perfectly." Lots of people are now sharing on social media how they've been made fun of just for what they eat.This isn't just an issue for people abroad.People in the comments brought up how discrimination over food is a big deal in India. Kids often can't bring non-vegetarian lunches to school. Plus, folks from lower castes or the northeastern states sometimes get a raw deal just because of what they cook with.Folks in places like Africa, Latin America, and other parts of Asia have talked about going through something similar – that feeling of being shamed for their food choices.Prakash and Bhattacheryya's trouble apparently started in September 2023.After the whole microwave incident, the couple, who are both PhD students in Anthropology, say things just got worse and worse for them.They mentioned losing their research money, their teaching gigs, and even their PhD advisors that they'd been with for months.They filed the lawsuit in May 2025, claiming discrimination.The university worked out a deal four months later, which is pretty standard when they want to skip a long, expensive court fight.The students got their degrees because of the settlement, but they can never again study or work at the university.Prakash shared that things like being separated from his European classmates or being told not to use a shared microwave because his food smelled a certain way really show how white people try to control what it means to be Indian and limit where you feel like you belong. He even remembers teachers in Italy making him sit at a different table during lunch when he was a kid.He says people have used food to put down different ethnic groups for a long time. He points out that the word "curry" has been turned into a way to insult people.Bhattacheryya mentioned that even well-known folks deal with this kind of thing. She brought up a social media post from 2024 where far-right activist Laura Loomer wrote that the White House "will smell like curry" if Kamala Harris were to become president.Loomer said her comment wasn't racist.Bhattacheryya said she faced consequences after inviting Prakash to speak to her anthropology class about cultural relativism.During the talk, Prakash talked about his experiences with food racism, including what happened with the palak paneer, but he didn't name any names.Later in 2024, she shared her family's experience with 'systemic racism' on X (which used to be Twitter). After that, a bunch of racist comments came her way, with people saying things like 'go back to India' and 'it's not just the food, many of you don't bathe.'The couple just wanted the university to actually hear them out, admit they messed up, and really try to make things right. But they say they never got a sincere apology.They ended up moving back to India and don't think they'll come back to the US."Prakash said, 'It doesn't matter how great you are at your job; the system always reminds you that your skin color or where you're from means you could be sent away at any moment.'"Things are really uncertain right now, and what we're going through at the university shows that perfectly."