Prahlad Iyengar, a second-year Ph.D. student at MIT is the face of shame and controversy. His story is a lesson that encapsulates the perils of campus activism, selective outrage, and the erosion of cultural identity. Once a devout Hindu member of the Iyengar community, Prahlad Iyengar has transitioned into a figure of “woke” campus politics.
Today Woke Prahlad advocates for pro-Palestinian causes. His journey from scholar to andolanjeevi has raised uncomfortable questions about how exposure to Wokeism can sever one’s ties to heritage, history, and identity – even common sense!
The Iyengar Community’s Forgotten Legacy
Yoga Narashimha Swamy temple at Melukote
Tipu Sultan massacred 700+ Mandyam Iyengar families in Melukote when town was celebrating Diwali
The town, to this day, doesn’t celebrate Diwali & mourns the destruction that Tipu Sultan wrecked over the holy town@LostTemple7 pic.twitter.com/b7S3GCibNd
— Sunny Pagare (@19SunSunny) March 11, 2020
The Iyengar community carries a heavy history. Tipu Sultan avenged his father’s loss by targeting their members. The genocide occurred on the day of Diwali. It left an indelible mark, causing the community to eschew celebrating the pious festival that reminded them of the horrific past. Prahlad Iyengar was a product of such a community. He was once seen as deeply rooted in these traditions, often wearing tilak and traditional Hindu attire in his younger years. Yet, today, he dons bull-ring piercings and keffiyehs.
On Deepavali, the army of Tipu Sultan rounded up the Mandyam Iyengar community—men, women, and children living in Melkote. They captured innocent Hindus, and more than 800 Hindus were 5laughtered. The rest were forced to abandon their homes.
Even today, the Mandyam Lyengar…
— Āryā_Anvikṣā 🪷 (@Arya_Anviksha_) November 12, 2023
He celebrates the Muslim and Palestinian identity by showing solidarity with movements antithetical to his heritage.
Prahlad Iyengar, an Indian student, transitioned from being a Hindu to a Hamas supporter
He is a PhD candidate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) ( Now suspended )
He began joining pro-Palestinian protests at MIT and gradually became radicalized.
He started… pic.twitter.com/gUIzUynQKL
— Yanika_Lit (@LogicLitLatte) December 9, 2024
Is this the price of overexposure to “wokeism”? The curious case of Prahlad Iyengar suggests that ideological overreach can distort one’s sense of history. Thereby, causing individuals to align with causes dear to “peacefuls” who happily would flay him like Tipu Sultan’s forces slayed his ancestors.
Consequences Of Activism For Prahlad Iyengar
Prahlad Iyengar belongs to a community which does not celebrate Diwali even today to mourn their 800 ancestors who were massacred by a peaceful Qaum.
Today, he is risking his life and future for the service of the same Qaum. He speaks like them. Dresses himself like them. Acts… https://t.co/2FUKi0pfzM pic.twitter.com/4EBUujDqbs
— True Indology (@TrueIndology) December 9, 2024
As an editor of Written Revolution, a pro-Palestinian magazine at MIT, Prahlad contributed an article titled “On Pacifism“. It called for “wreaking havoc” and criticized pacifist movements. The piece drew severe backlash, with administrators citing it as a potential incitement to violence. Prahlad Iyengar wanted his readers to engage in physical activism. Additionally, symbols associated with the US-designated terrorist group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine accompanied his article.
Hence, not only was Prahlad Iyengar inciting violence on campus, but he was also promoting terrorism!
Meet Prahlad Iyengar
He is a National science foundation fellow.
He is a Ph.D. candidate at MIT
But he is a hard-core Palestine supporter.
MIT decided that it will remain MIT not a Madarasa.
MIT expelled Prahlad for Palestinian activism on campus. https://t.co/aF6DmqayDs pic.twitter.com/i9ogI58Xpb— The Story Teller (@IamTheStory__) December 10, 2024
MIT administrators halted the magazine’s distribution and initiated additional disciplinary proceedings against Prahlad. Iyengar was already under review for participating in previous pro-Palestinian protests that targeted professors with accusations of ties to Israeli military projects. His words made other students feel unsafe. His actions left many questioning whether his activism prioritized academic freedom or crossed into endorsing aggression.
The Woke Virus on Campus
The freak of nature in the kitchen towel and the bull ring is Prahlad Iyengar, a 2nd year PhD student at MIT. Yesterday, the institution suspended him after first having moved to expel him on charges.
Wonder what charges. 🤔 pic.twitter.com/ufr8z8BCRT
— Amit Schandillia (@Schandillia) December 9, 2024
Prahlad Iyengar’s transformation into a Woke Activist showcases a broader issue. Western universities breed ideologies that encourage students to betray their cultural and historical ties. Campuses, often hotbeds of intellectual diversity, have increasingly become echo chambers for Wokeist Agendas.
Students like Prahlad Iyengar find themselves ensnared in ideological battles that require them to abandon nuanced understanding for absolutist narratives.
In embracing the pro-Palestinian cause, Prahlad Iyengar overlooked the irony of advocating for a community that is historically linked to the subjugation of his community. His call to arms, cloaked in academic language, alienated peers and drew criticism for its perceived incitement. Yet, to his ideological comrades, this is the cost of staying “relevant”. And to him, any action against his words is an abandonment of “Free Speech”!
Betrayal of Roots Is Woke Evolution?
What's USE of your Tech Knowledge that can't Decipher COMMUNIST Propaganda ?
Prahlad Iyengar did woke-campus activism in MIT & he's suspended Till Jan-2026
He thought he's becoming VOICE of Voice Less
In Reality he became JACK-ASS for Islamists, who'll CULL him for being KAAPHIR pic.twitter.com/hQDDuFTUs2— VishnuUgra (Modi Ka Parivar) (@VishnuPragya) December 9, 2024
Prahlad Iyengar isn’t a unique example, however, he is emblematic of a generation grappling with conflicting identities and intellectual pogroms of wokesim. The same universities that teach critical thinking often fail to encourage students to critically engage with their own history. Instead, the Woke agenda is propagated to many under the guise of Freedom.
Hence, youths like Prahlad adopt ideologies at odds with their ancestral legacy, sacrificing their identity for fleeting acceptance in woke circles.
MIT is effectively expelling PhD student Prahlad Iyengar for Palestine activism on campus, and for a pro-Palestine essay that contained imagery and language that could be interpreted as a call for more violent or destructive forms of protest at MIT.
This is the… pic.twitter.com/vvpQprQ8zN— Rupa Murthy (@rupamurthy1) December 10, 2024
The consequences for Prahlad Iyengar go beyond administrative action. His alignment with a Woke movement may cost him his academic career. This selective activism makes him support “peacefuls” whose actions resulted in the genocide of the Iyengar community. Thus, in search of a “cause,” Prahlad Iyengar lost his root!
Western universities, with their unchecked ideological ecosystems, have become breeding grounds for such andolanjeevis – activists who forsake history, heritage, and familial ties for ideological purity. As Prahlad faces disciplinary action, one must ask: Are these institutions nurturing global citizens or foot soldiers for transient Wokeist ideologies?