 "Paik plans to use the MacArthur Fellowship funds to continue her research and writing on Dalit lives and the caste system. Image courtesy: MacArthur Foundation")
India-born historian Shailaja Paik has made history as the first Dalit scholar to be awarded with the esteemed MacArthur Fellowship, often called the “genius grant."
Recognised for her pioneering work in Dalit studies, gender, and sexuality in modern India, the 50-year-old Indian-American professor will receive an impressive $800,000 (approximately Rs 67 lakh) to support her ongoing research.
The MacArthur “genius” grant is a much-coveted award given each year to individuals across various fields—academia, science, arts, and activism—who demonstrate extraordinary achievements or potential.
“Through her focus on the multifaceted experiences of Dalit women, Paik elucidates the enduring nature of caste discrimination and the forces that perpetuate untouchability,” said the Foundation while announcing the fellowship.
Paik’s journey from the Yerwada slum in Pune, Maharashtra, to her position as a distinguished professor at the University of Cincinnati is nothing short of inspirational.
Here’s a closer look at her remarkable story.
Education and employment — magic wands to escape slum
In an interview with National Public Radio (NPR), Paik recounted her upbringing in the Yerawada slum of Pune, Maharashtra, where she lived with her three sisters in a cramped 20-by-20-foot room. Her father, Deoram F Paik, was the family’s sole provider, working tirelessly as a waiter and restaurant cleaner during the day while pursuing his education at night.
“He attended what we call night school and worked during the day…He put up pandals [temporary scaffolding used for weddings or religious events] and learned to play [pre-recorded] music during events. In this way, somehow, he educated himself — and got a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Sciences, the first Dalit man from his village to do so,” Paik shared in a UC News interview.
Her mother, though only educated until grade six, played a crucial role in fostering her children’s academic ambitions. “She worked very hard at domestic drudgery to enable me and my sisters to devote ourselves to our education,” Paik noted in her NPR interview.
Despite their determination, Paik described the harsh realities of her surroundings, recalling how their home lacked a regular water supply and a private toilet. “I grew up with garbage and dirt around me, and pigs roamed the alleys,” she said.
She remembered hauling heavy vessels of water on her head from a public tap and the distinct caste distinctions she faced, such as using designated teacups that were different from those of upper-caste individuals or sitting on the mud floor while conversing.
“To escape the slum, I had to get education and employment — it was key to living a better life,” she asserted.
In 1996, Paik received a scholarship to Savitribai Phule Pune University, where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history, initially aspiring to become an IAS officer.
Later, with the support of a Ford Foundation grant, she completed her PhD at Warwick University in the UK and now teaches history at the University of Cincinnati.
Her work
Paik has openly shared how her upbringing profoundly shaped her socially, educationally, emotionally, and psychologically, influencing her to spotlight Dalit lives through her work.
Her first book, ‘Dalit Women’s Education in Modern India: Double Discrimination’, published in 2014, focuses on the challenges Dalit women face in Maharashtra.
“Women faced double discrimination — for being Dalits and because of their gender. So that became an important motivation for me too,” she recalled.
Paik’s second book, ‘The Vulgarity of Caste: Dalits, Sexuality, and Humanity in Modern India’, published by Stanford Press, explores the lives of Maharashtra’s Tamasha artists. Tamasha is a popular, bawdy form of folk theatre practised primarily by Dalits in Maharashtra for centuries.
In addition to her books, Paik has contributed to leading journals like South Asian Studies, Gender and History, and Indian Journal of Gender Studies.
Throughout her career, Paik has garnered numerous prestigious awards. Besides the MacArthur grant, she has received the Frederick Burkhardt Fellowship, the Stanford Humanities Center Fellowship, and the Luce Foundation Fellowship.
In 2023, she was awarded the John F. Richards Prize and the Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy Prize for her work on The Vulgarity of Caste.
What’s next for Paik?
Paik plans to use the MacArthur Fellowship funds to continue her research and writing on Dalit lives and the caste system.
“This funding will allow me to continue my research and writing, helping educate others and creating documentation about the lives of the Dalits and the caste system,” she explained.
The MacArthur Fellowship is a ‘no-strings-attached’ grant that is paid over five years to individuals whose work addresses crucial gaps in knowledge. No questions are asked about how they spend the funds, and the fellows are selected through a process of external nominators.
Paik is currently working on creating a new archive based on her interviews and fieldwork with contemporary Dalit women. Her research is crucial as there has been no formal documentation of Dalit historiography for long and the research is inadequate in mainstream Indian universities.
Overwhelmed by the fellowship, Paik remarked, “I’ve never been called a ‘genius’ before… but when I think of how I got here—an often rocky journey—I’m going to embrace it with gratitude.”
With input from agencies