Frankfurt: Max Planck Launches Europe's First Indian Legal History Centre as Lufthansa Incident Draws Attention
Frankfurt finds itself at the centre of two very different South Asian stories this week. Germany's flagship research institution, the Max Planck Society, has announced the establishment of the first European research centre dedicated to the history of Indian law — a landmark for South Asian scholarship on the continent. Separately, a Lufthansa flight bound for Frankfurt was diverted to Boston after an Indian national allegedly assaulted two teenage passengers with a metal fork, prompting federal charges from the U.S. Department of Justice.
🎓 Europe's First Centre for Indian Legal History Opens at Max Planck
The Max Planck Society, one of Germany's most prestigious research organisations, has established the first European research centre dedicated to the legal history of India. The new centre represents a significant expansion of the academic infrastructure available to scholars working on South Asian jurisprudence, colonial-era law, and the development of legal systems on the subcontinent. For the Indian diaspora in Germany and across Europe, this is a milestone worth noting: South Asian legal tradition — spanning ancient dharmashastra texts, Mughal-era governance, and the transformative upheavals of British colonial rule — has long been understudied in European academic settings. The Max Planck Society operates more than eighty research institutes across multiple disciplines and carries considerable scientific prestige globally. Its commitment to this field signals a growing recognition that Indian legal history is both a rich area of study and one with implications for understanding global legal development more broadly. Scholars in Frankfurt and across the continent will now have an institutional home for this research. For diaspora communities invested in seeing India's intellectual and legal heritage taken seriously by European institutions, the establishment of this centre is a meaningful and long-overdue development. It may generate new scholarship, foster academic exchange between India and Germany, and bring greater international attention to the depth and complexity of India's legal traditions across the centuries. The centre is the first of its kind on the continent. [1]
Indian National Charged After Stabbing Teens on Frankfurt-Bound Lufthansa Flight
A Lufthansa flight from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to Frankfurt was diverted to Boston Logan International Airport on Saturday, October 25, 2025, after an Indian national allegedly stabbed two teenage boys with a metal fork during the flight. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Praneeth Kumar Usiripalli, a 28-year-old who had previously entered the United States on a student visa and no longer held lawful immigration status, was taken into custody upon the plane's arrival in Boston. The DOJ states that Usiripalli allegedly stabbed one 17-year-old in the shoulder area while the teenager was lightly sleeping, then turned to another 17-year-old seated in a center row and stabbed him in the back of the head. When crew members attempted to restrain him, Usiripalli allegedly made a gesture mimicking a gun, slapped a female passenger, and attempted to strike a flight crew member. The flight, a Boeing 747-8 carrying 363 passengers, landed safely in Boston. Lufthansa arranged hotel accommodations and rebooking for all 363 passengers during a period of high hotel occupancy in the Boston area. Usiripalli has been charged with one count of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm while traveling in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States. If convicted, he faces up to ten years in prison. He is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston at a later date. [2]
Sources: [1] Max-Planck-Gesellschaft · [2] ABC7 Chicago