With the US Supreme Court striking down affirmative action programmes, which encouraged race-based admissions, in June 2023, the debate has largely focused on the impact such a decision will have on the country's most disadvantaged minorities which include Hispanics, Blacks, and Native Americans.
But for Vijay Jojo Chokal Ingam, an Indian-American who pursued a BA in Economics student at the University of Chicago, pursuing medical education meant jumping through 'race hoops', which led him to take the decision of 'pretending to be black' a phrase often considered as a racist trope in America.
Who is Vijay Jojo? What did he do?
Vijay Jojo made headlines years ago when he 'scammed' his way into medical colleges in the US by checking on the 'black' section in all the applications.
According to reports, Vijay realised that as an Indian-origin student, he has a very low statistical chance of admission, but a black applicant with average test scores enjoyed a higher probability of admission.
"I got into Saint Louis University School of Medicine despite the fact that my 3.1 GPA was dramatically lower than the average 3.7 at the time. I got waitlisted at Washington University and the University of Pennsylvania School, the third and fourth best medical schools in America at the time,” Vijay said in an interview with The Quint back in November 2022.
Vijay also shaved his head, trimmed his eyelashes, and joined an organisation of black students before applying for medical schools as a black man.
Vijay is the brother of The Office fame Mindy Kaling
Vijay, who is the brother of popular Indian-American actress Mindy Kaling, stated that his sister was not too happy about him sharing his story initially when he wrote the book ‘Almost Black' after dropping out.
"My sister Mindy Kaling jokingly said that I would bring shame on the family by telling my story,” Vijay stated in the interview.
Calling affirmative action 'legalised racism', Vijay claimed that top and lower-ranked universities segregate applications based on race. “It’s a form of legalized racism. It’s the ultimate form of discrimination to assume that one is disadvantaged just because he’s black, Hispanic or Native American," Vijay told the New York Post in an interview years ago.
'History is made today'
After the US Supreme Court cancelled the use of Affirmative Action at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, it also ruled that the universities violated the fourteenth amendment and federal civil rights law. Vijay was one of the individuals celebrating the success.
"History is made today,' his tweet read.
