Indian couple awarded $200,000 compensation for “food discrimination”

In response to queries from the BBC, university officials said they could not comment on specific cases of alleged discrimination or harassment due to privacy requirements. However, they emphasized that the university is committed to providing an inclusive and respectful environment for all students and staff, regardless of nationality, religion, culture and other legally protected characteristics. Prakash himself noted that the purpose of the lawsuit was not money, but recognition of the problem. According to him, it was important to show that discrimination against Indians for their cultural and national identity should not go without consequences.

According to Prakash and Bhattacheria, the problems started in September 2023. Prakash, a postgraduate student in the department of anthropology, was microwaving a spinach and paneer lunch when he claims a university staff member from the UK complained about the “strong” smell of the dish and said there was a supposed campus policy against heating food with strong aroma. Prakash noted that such a rule has not been recorded anywhere. When he later tried to clarify which foods were subject to this restriction, he was told that sandwiches were not considered problematic, while curries were.

Prakash said the incident was followed by a chain of decisions by the university that cost him and Bhattacherya, also a graduate student, the loss of research funding, teaching loads and even the academic advisors with whom they had been collaborating for several months. The couple filed a lawsuit against the university in May 2025, accusing it of discrimination and “systematic escalation of retaliation.” Already in September, the parties reached a pre-trial agreement – such decisions, as a rule, are made in order to avoid protracted and costly litigation.

As part of the agreement, the university agreed to issue diplomas to Prakash and Bhattachery, without admitting any wrongdoing and banning them from further study or work at the institution. In a statement to the BBC, the university also noted that the University of Colorado Boulder’s anthropology department is taking steps to restore trust among students, faculty and staff. Specifically, department leadership met with graduate students, faculty, and staff to listen to their views and discuss changes to create a more inclusive and supportive academic environment.

In the suit, Bhattacheria also stated that she faced harassment after inviting Prakash as a guest lecturer in her anthropology course on cultural relativism. Cultural relativism suggests that no culture is “better” or “worse” than another because the traditions and norms of each are formed within its own social and historical context. Bhattacherya also said she became the target of racist attacks after she posted on social media site X in 2024 about the “systemic racism” she said she faced at university.

The post included both words of support for the couple and openly hostile comments, ranging from calls to “go back to India” to statements like “decolonization was a mistake” and insults related to appearance and hygiene. The young couple emphasized that they expected the university, above all, to be attentive and understanding: to acknowledge their experiences, pain and feelings of isolation, and to try to achieve genuine dialogue and reconciliation.

According to them, they never heard any clear or sincere apology from the university. After the incident, the couple returned to India and admits that they do not rule out never coming to the United States again.