Historian Shailja Paik receives $800,000 MacArthur “genius” grant for work on Dalit women

Shailja Paik’s research focuses on how caste domination intersects with gender and sexuality to strip Dalit women of their dignity and identity.
Shailja Paik, a historian and professor at the University of Cincinnati, has been awarded an $800,000 “genius” grant by the MacArthur Foundation for her pioneering work on the challenges faced by Dalit women in India. The fellowship is given annually to individuals of exceptional achievement and potential.
“Through her focus on the multifaceted experiences of Dalit women, Pike articulates the enduring nature of caste discrimination and the forces that sustain untouchability,” the MacArthur Foundation said in its announcement, The Mooknayak reported.
Pike, a distinguished research professor of history, is also an associate in the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Asian Studies programs at the University of Cincinnati. Her scholarship has shed light on the intersections of caste, gender, and sexuality, providing unprecedented insights into the lived experiences of Dalit women.
Raised in the slums of Siddharth Nagar in Yerawada, Pune, Paik’s journey is an inspiration. She overcame the challenges of caste discrimination and rose from the slums to earn a master’s degree from Savitribai Phule University, followed by a doctorate from the University of Warwick.
Pike is the first MacArthur Fellow to represent both the University of Cincinnati and the City of Cincinnati since the fellowship’s inception in 1981. In an interview with UC News, Pike attributed her success to her unwavering commitment to education. “Education and employment were the magic wands to get out of the slums,” she said.
Pike’s research focuses on how caste domination combines with gender and sexuality to strip Dalit women of their dignity and identity. Her first book, Dalit Women’s Education in Modern India: Double Discrimination (2014), covers the challenges faced by Dalit women in Maharashtra.
Her second book, Pornography of Caste: Dalits, Sexuality and Humanity in Modern India (2022), explores the lives of Maharashtra’s Tamasha artists, including many Dalit women.
Paik grew up in a cramped room in Pune with her three sisters. She still remembers challenging conditions such as water problems and the lack of a private toilet. “I grew up with garbage and filth around me. Pigs roamed the streets,” Paik told UC News. She said memories of public toilets still haunt her.
Her father, Devram F. Paik, was determined that his children receive an English education, while her mother, Sarita Paik, tried to protect her daughters from the harsh realities around them.
In addition to the MacArthur Fellowship, Professor Pike has received several other awards, including the Frederick Burkhardt Fellowship, the Stanford Humanities Center Fellowship, and the American Institute of Indian Studies Fellowship. She was recently awarded the 2023 John F. Richards Prize and the Anand Kentish Coomaraswamy Prize for The Vulgarity of Caste.
Pike said the MacArthur grant will support her continued research and writing. “This funding will allow me to continue my research and educate others about the lives of Dalits and the caste system,” she said.
Credit: Hindi News