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Mindy Kaling’s Brother: Being ‘Black’ Got Him Into Med School

In a ruse straight out of the movie Soul Man, Mindy Kaling’s older brother posed as a black man to get into medical school. Vijay Chokal-Ingam recently revealed that he self-identified as black on h...
Mindy Kaling’s Brother: Being ‘Black’ Got Him Into Med School
Written by Val Powell
  • In a ruse straight out of the movie Soul Man, Mindy Kaling’s older brother posed as a black man to get into medical school.

    Vijay Chokal-Ingam recently revealed that he self-identified as black on his medical school applications to give himself a better chance at getting accepted.

    “I was determined to become a doctor and I knew that admission standards for certain minorities under affirmative action were, let’s say… less stringent?” Chokal-Ingam wrote in his blog Almost Black.

    The Indian-American said that to look more the part, he shaved his head, trimmed what he describes as his “long Indian eyelashes” and even went so far as to join the Organization of Black Students. His transformation was so drastic that he claims even his fraternity brothers didn’t recognized him.

    Chokal-Ingam was apparently convincing enough that he was soon interviewed at Columbia and HarvardUniversities and was on the waiting list of Mt.Sinai, University of Pennsylvania and WashingtonUniversity. He has even posted screenshots of medical school applications and interview invitations on his Almost Black Facebook page.

    This album has extensive documentation (including applications, admissions correspondence, interview invites, and…

    Posted by Almost Black on Friday, March 27, 2015

    He was finally accepted to St. Louis University School of Medicine but dropped out after two years.

    He pulled off his so called “twisted social experiment” 15 years ago but decided to reveal it now to underline his anti-affirmative action beliefs.  Chokal-Ingam even called out his alma mater UCLA for, according to him, strengthening its affirmative-action admissions policies.

    Describing himself as an “affirmative action hacktivist,” Chokal-Ingram is also planning to write a memoir about his ruse, aptly titled “Almost Black.”

    As expected, his revelation has received a lot of backlash, with people angrily commenting on how he took advantage of the system or how he deprived a worthy black student of an opportunity.

    Representatives of Mindy Kaling have not issued any comment on the matter. However, Chokal-Ingam did admit that his sister didn’t approve of his actions and that they’re fighting over it.

    “She says this will bring shame on the family,” he admitted.

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