Who is Prahlad Iyengar? MIT expelled this Indian-origin student by calling him/her a supporter of terrorism

MIT suspends Prahlad Iyengar: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the world’s number one institute, is in the news these days because of the suspension of an Indian-origin student. Prahlad Iyengar, an Indian-origin PhD scholar studying at MIT, has been suspended from the institute. The reason for this is that Iyengar wrote a pro-Palestine essay or rather article, which was published in the college magazine last month. Prahlad Iyengar has been suspended till January 2026.
Not only this, but Iyengar’s five-year National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship has been terminated. A pro-Palestine article written through Iyengar was published in a magazine named ‘Written Revolution’. MIT believes what the student wrote calls for violent protests on campus. The institute has also banned ‘Retain Revolution’. On the other hand, Iyengar said that this shows the issue of freedom of expression in American colleges.

Who is Prahlad Iyengar?

Prahlad Iyengar was pursuing his/her PhD in MIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. his/her research is based on the intersection of quantum information, quantum sensing and machine learning. According to Iyengar’s LinkedIn profile, he/she has done his/her undergraduation from ‘Georgia Institute of Technology’ in the state of Georgia. Here he/she has done B.Sc in Electrical, Electronics and Communication Engineering. he/she has also been an applied physicist and undergraduate research assistant.

Iyengar’s Instagram profile shows that he/she is a supporter of the people of Gaza i.e. Palestinians. Iyengar has also been participating in the panel of Arabic news channel Al Jazeera. Here he/she recently gave an interview, in which he/she talked about the banning of ‘Written Revolution’ magazine.

What did MIT say?

After suspending Prahlad Iyengar, a statement has also come out from MIT. Regarding his/her article, MIT said that the language used in it seems to incite people to incite violence and demonstrations on the campus. MIT Dean of Student Life David Warren Randall wrote an email to the editors of ‘Retain Revolution’ magazine, in which these things were said. The email said the article contained images that contained the logo of the ‘Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine’. According to the US State Department, it is a terrorist organization.

What did Prahlad Iyengar say in his/her defence?

According to Commune magazine, Iyengar wrote in his/her article that a pacifist strategy may not be the best path for Palestine. However, he/she did not directly call for violent resistance. Iyengar says that the photographs for the article were not provided by him/her. The Indian-origin student’s lawyer, Eric Lee, shared a statement on social media in which Iyengar said, “The college administration is accusing me of supporting terrorism because my article contains pictures of Popular Front for the Liberation posters. “

Prahlad Iyengar further said, “This extraordinary action is worrying for everyone on campus. Suspending me because of this article and banning the magazine from campus would be an attack on the entire student body and faculty. Especially since MIT has MIT accused me of terrorism but how far will this label apply? At present, voices have started being raised in support of Prahlad inside the campus.