Overview
- An X user known as “Oilfield Rando” published a list singling out Indian and Indian‑origin faculty at Montana State University that included Dr Shivali Banerjee, and the post circulated Monday and drew wide attention.
- Thousands of social‑media users pushed back by posting Dr Banerjee’s CV details and stressing her PhD from IIT Bombay, with commenters noting IITs’ extreme selectivity and prestige.
- The original poster replied to criticism and doubled down with negative comments about India rather than retracting the list, which intensified the online exchange.
- Reporting so far shows no institutional disciplinary action by Montana State University, and the episode shifted the conversation from nationality to why U.S. universities recruit IIT‑trained scholars.
- The incident highlights broader, data‑backed trends in India–U.S. higher education: about 22,000 Indian‑origin faculty teach in the U.S. and 363,019 Indian students studied there in 2024–25, raising questions about talent flows and how social platforms shape reputations.