Historian Shailaja Paik becomes first Dalit to receive a US Genius Grant, says "It is fantastic reminder of..."

Shailaja Paik, a Dalit woman scholar has clinched the coveted ‘Genius Grant’, the MacArthur Fellowship of $800,000. She emerged as the first Dalit to receive the prestigious American fellowship for her extensive knowledge and research focusing on Dalit studies, gender, and sexuality in modern India.

Born in a poor Dalit family in Maharashtra, Shailaja aims to eradicate caste, gender, and racial discrimination. The fellowship will allow her to expand her research and collaborate with colleagues working on caste and social justice across the world. “Dalits have given their blood and lives, and I hope non-Dalits will stand with Dalits and fight caste, gender, and racial discrimination in and beyond South Asia,” she told The Print. 

Furthermore, Paik emphasised the value of the fellowship and how it uplifts the Dalit community. “It is a fantastic reminder of the contributions of Dalit Studies, as well as me, a Dalit woman scholar, has made to the different fields of knowledge as well as the global conversation on social justice and human rights,” she added. Paik works as an Assistant Professor in History, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Cincinnati, USA. 

The MacArthur Fellows Program of $ 800,000 is awarded to extraordinary creative individuals who impact society with their pioneering work. Every year, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation honours between 20 and 30 individuals with this grant. Fellows do not apply or are interviewed but are endorsed by their peers to receive the coveted grant over five years to advance their academic pursuits. Paik was selected among 22 fellows for this program this year.  

Paik pursued her graduation degree from Savitribai Phule Pune University. She went to Warwick University, UK with the assistance of a Ford Foundation grant to complete her PhD. The Dalit community has been the centre of her research and writing for 25 years. The historian grew up in the city of Pune with her three sisters in a one-room house. Her father, Deoram F. Paik, was the first Dalit man to earn a bachelor’s degree from her area. 

Meanwhile, Paik has earlier been honoured with the Frederick Burkhardt Fellowship, the Stanford Humanities Center Fellowship, the American Institute of Indian Studies Fellowship and the Luce Foundation Fellowship. She also received the John F. Richards Prize and the Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy Prize for her book, “The Vulgarity of Caste: Dalits, Sexuality and Humanity in Modern India.”