“She said it was pungent,” said Aditya Prakash, now 34, adding, “I told her calmly, ‘It’s just food. I’m heating it and leaving.'”
Allegations of discrimination and retaliationAditya Prakash and his partner, fellow PhD scholar Urmi Bhattacheryya, alleged that the incident marked the start of discriminatory treatment and institutional retaliation.
In a federal civil rights lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the District of Colorado, they claimed the university “engaged in a pattern of escalating retaliation” after concerns were raised, as per News18.
The lawsuit pointed to a departmental kitchen policy that allegedly had a “disproportionate and discriminatory impact on ethnic groups like South Asians”, creating unease among Indian students about using shared spaces.
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“The discriminatory treatment and ongoing retaliation caused us emotional distress, mental anguish, and pain and suffering,” the lawsuit stated, as per News18.
Academic fallout and campus tensions
Aditya Prakash said he was repeatedly summoned to meetings with senior faculty and accused of making staff “feel unsafe”, with complaints filed against him with the Office of Student Conduct.
Urmi Bhattacheryya, 35, alleged she lost her teaching assistantship without prior notice. She also said that when students brought Indian food to campus days later, they were accused of “inciting a riot”, though those complaints were later dismissed.
“Everything changed overnight after that food-heating episode,” Aditya Prakash said. “My food is my pride. Ideas about what smells good or bad are culturally determined,” he added, as per News18.
He questioned comparisons with other foods, asking, “How many groups face racism because they eat broccoli?”
Settlement and return to India
In September 2025, the university reached a settlement with the couple, agreeing to pay $200,000 and award them Master’s degrees. Under the agreement, they are barred from future study or employment at the institution.
Earlier this month, both returned to India permanently.
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“Going back would mean re-entering the same system, with the same visa precarity,” Aditya Prakash said. “I don’t see myself going back.”
Urmi Bhattacheryya said their experience reflected a wider hardening of attitudes in the US.
“Institutions talk about inclusion,” she said, “but there is less patience for discomfort — especially when it comes from immigrants or people of colour,” as per News18.
