The recent shocking case coming from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) regarding the Indian origin youth named Prahlad Iyengar has brought shock waves to many. Prahlad Iyengar who used to be a janeu-dhari (sacred thread wearing) boy coming from a traditional Hindu family has turned himself into a radical pro palestine supporter.
Prahlad who was doing PhD at the MIT has been suspended until January 2026 for writing a pro-Palestinian essay. Once a bright and cheerful student with a promising academic future, Prahlad’s life has taken a drastic turn due to his involvement in activism and controversial campus movements.
Prahlad’s transformation began during the global Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests in 2020 following George Floyd’s death. Witnessing the unrest in Atlanta, Prahlad transitioned from passive observer to active participant. He expressed solidarity with African American protesters, articulating the need for “collective anger” to drive change. This marked a significant shift in his outlook, as he began engaging more deeply in social and political issues.
Over time, Prahlad’s activism expanded to the pro-Palestinian cause, particularly after the October 2023 terrorist attacks by Hamas and subsequent Israeli military response. His participation in rallies and his writings reflected a deeper engagement with the Palestinian liberation movement. In November 2024, his essay titled On Pacifism became the center of controversy. MIT administrators found the essay as a subtle endorsement of more disruptive or destructive tactics.
The inclusion of imagery tied to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a designated terrorist organization, further fueled concerns. Phrases like “We will burn the ground beneath your feet” and posters advocating “Intifada everywhere” raised alarms about the essay’s implications for campus safety and the boundaries of free speech.
MIT’s response to Prahlad’s essay was swift and severe. Citing concerns over the potential for his writings to incite violence, the institution barred him from campus, terminated his National Science Foundation fellowship, and left his academic career in limbo.
Prahlad’s social media narrates the change of his life and ideology. The social media posts of Prahlad Iyengar back in 2019 portrays him as a jolly young boy who was much into life away from activism. But after 2019, a major transformation took place in the personality of Prahlad. He went up to engage himself much into extreme ideologies. He started to advocate violence as a way to reach the goal he considered nobel. The Campus activism has made the simple janeudhari young boy into a different person altogether who gave up all his senses of right and wrong and is connected to nothing but one extreme cause.
This brainwashing is not limited to Prahlad Iyengar alone but reaches out to thousands of Indian/Hindu students because of the fact that most of the Hindu parents shy away from making their own children teach about their culture and religion. The Hindu parents mostly focus on academics which leaves a void inside the mind of an average Hindu youth and this void is often filled by the abrahamic religions who pull the same Hindu youths by their stories, narratives and world view.
Educational institutions which lie at the hands of Leftist powers which in turn are allies with Islamism have become the centre of whitewashing. Hindu youths often suffer discrimination at the hands of academicians at the educational institutions as have been witnessed in the cases of Rashmi Samant’s case at Oxford. Their religion is often termed irrational and the false history is the biggest weapon used against the Hindu students who get them out of the Hindu fold.
Hindu parents must realise that it is the culture that will make their children intact with them otherwise they might slip to the wrong direction. The children not having been exposed to their religion and the problems of their own community will get hold of other religions and issues of some other community. Focus upon academics is all good in order to get a better living standard but teaching your own children about their religion is important to make sure the children remain yours.