WASHINGTON: India’s caste custom has reared its head in the groves of
American academe. In a rather dubious first, an Indian professor at a US
university has sued a fellow Indian don, citing personal caste
discrimination among reasons for a stifled career.
Pinaki Mazumder, a professor in the electrical engineering and computer
science department at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, says Promod
Khargonekar, a former chairman of the department, discriminated against him
on grounds of caste, affecting his performance reviews and pay raises.
Mazumder says he is a Kayastha, and Khargonekar is a Brahmin.
The lawsuit, which also involved the university, seeks unspecified damages.
It alleges the university did nothing to stop the bias, trivialised his
concerns and retaliated against him when he complained.
The lawsuit has become a sideshow at the university, which is in the news
these days because of a landmark US Supreme Court decision earlier this
week upholding race as a factor in admissions, a ruling that has widespread
impact across the country.
Coming on the heels of a scathing article in last month’s National
Geographic on India’s continuing caste woes, the case has dismayed Indian
students and the community, one of whom tipped off this newspaper. The
lawsuit has attracted local media coverage, including on TV stations and in
the Ann Arbor News.
In a telephone interview, Mazumder said there was more to the case than
just caste, although the American media probably found it more newsworthy.
Indian professors in US universities are routinely denied tenure and
promotions on various grounds including race and his lawsuit dealt with
these issues too, he maintained.
No accurate count of Indian teachers in US universities is available, but
they are estimated to be in the tens of thousands, and second only to
teachers of American nationality in terms of numbers.
Typically, they have a sterling reputation and are regarded highly. There
have only been a few discrimination lawsuits, but never one on ground of
caste against a fellow Indian.
Mazumder says Khargonekar berated his teaching methods and also allowed a
post-doctoral research assistant, who is also a Brahmin, to copy his
‘‘intellectual property’’.
Khargonekar, who has moved on to become the dean of engineering at the
University of Florida, could not be reached for comment.
Neil Lao, a spokesman of the UMich engineering department declined to speak
on the case citing administrative reasons. But the Ann Arbor News quoted
university spokesperson Julie Peterson as saying Mazumder has been treated
fairly, and ‘‘it is absurd to think the college would somehow discriminate
on the basis of caste. We would not even be aware of, much less take notice
of, an individual’s caste’’.
