NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 25, 2004
PTI

An Indian assistant professor training to be a psychiatrist at the Harvard Medical School has filed a suit against it alleging discrimination on account of his nationality. Rajendra Badgaiyan, who was training to be a psychiatrist, has filed a Federal lawsuit alleging that while serving in a residency programme run by Harvard at a Brockton veterans' hospital, he was discriminated, Boston Globe daily reported.

Badgaiyan, an assistant radiology professor in Harvard at Massachusetts General Hospital, has alleged in his suit that he may not get his licence to practice psychiatry because the director of the residency programme was biased against Indian doctors and, therefore, made false claims about his performance.

The suit, filed in US District Court in Boston, names Harvard University, the Secretary of the US Department of Veterans Affairs, and Grace Mushrush, a doctor and director of Harvard's South Shore Psychiatry Residency Training Programme at the VA (Veterans Administration) Medical Centre at Brockton. The suit seeks unspecified damages.

Boston attorney Paul Merry, who represents Badgaiyan, said his client did not want to comment on the suit. "We are still hoping to resolve it without further litigation," adding he wants to be able to pursue his career and not lose his fellowship. "He wants to be able to go forth and heal."

Education and Training

M.D. (1982), Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal, India
M.B.,B.S. (1978), Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal, India
M.A. Psychology (1984), Bhopal University, India
Postdoctoral Training (Cognitive Neuroscience; Molecular Imaging): Harvard University,
University of Pittsburgh, University of Oregon
Residency Training in Psychiatry (2003): Harvard Medical School
Academic Positions