Meet Shruthi Kumar? The Indian-American whose speech at Harvard on Palestine went viral

A video of Shruthi Kumar, an Indian-American, is going viral on the internet. Shruthi's speech at Harvard earlier on May 13 has gone viral in which slammed the university over Gaza issue.

Shruthi Kumar said “this semester our freedom of speech and our expressions of solidarity became punishable,” she said to cheers and applause.

She said she had to recognize “the 13 undergraduates in the class of 2024 who will not graduate today,” generating prolonged cheers and clapping from graduates. “I am deeply disappointed by the intolerance for freedom of speech and the right to civil disobedience on campus.”

Who is Shruthi Kumar?

Shruthi Kumar is an Indian-American. She graduated from Marian High School in 2020 before heading to Harvard for studies.

In her LinkedIn profile, she said to have proficiency in Kannada and Tamil apart from English and Spanish.

She is said to be the first from her family to go to a college in the US.

"I was the First Indian-American to represent Team USA at the World Championship of Yoga Sports," she claims on her website.

She is the founder of GoYogi, a 'non-profit organization focused on taking a preventative and proactive approach to mental health education through the integration of mindfulness-based practices in schools and care centers worldwide'.

According to her LinkedIn profile, she is the co-director of the Wellness Educator Program at Harvard University.

In addition, she has completed internships at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), among other institutions.

Shruthi has also been serving as the President of the Harvard South Asian Association since May 2022.