Shailaja Paik: Sister of three, lived in a single-room slum, this Dalit daughter Shailaja Paik is not just another usual name. Breaking all the barriers attached to her community and society, author Shailaja has created a name for herself and her people. Indian-American Historian Paik recently received one of the biggest grants of her career. She earned a $800000 MacArthur or ‘Genius’ Grant for her remarkable achievements. Her work on Dalits speaks strength and has impressed a large community. Let’s dive deeper into her recent take on the community.
Shailaja Paik and her Take on Dalits
Shailaja Paik who has done her BA and MA in Pune and completed her PhD from the University of Warwick, has always been vocal about her community. As her work focuses on different kinds of social issues a Dalit faces, she always tries to shed light on the root problems. Her work includes topics like Caste, Class and Sexuality which are considered crucial issues in the Dalit community.
Talking about Shailaja Paik’s take on Dalits, her first book, “Dalit Women’s Education in Modern India: Double Discrimination” talked about the discrimination Dalit women face in the education sector. In this book, she addressed both old and modern issues in accessing education in Maharashtra.
In 2022, Shailaja published a book called, The Vulgarity of Caste: Dalits, Sexuality, and Humanity in Modern India. Her book talked about the lives of performers of Dalit communities in Tamasha. Tamasha here refers to the public, secular, traveling theater in Maharashtra. Shailaja’s work also talked about the conflicts related to caste, gender and sexuality in creating Tamasha. Her analysis communicated Dalit women’s hard work to earn economic independence even after the discrimination they faced in society.
About Indian American Historian Shailaja
Born in 1973, Shailaja Paik is an author, who predominantly addresses the issues related to women, caste, gender, sexuality, etc with a primary focus on the Dalit community. She is working at the University of Cincinnati. Her designation is Charles Phelps Taft Distinguished Research Professor of History and affiliate faculty in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Asian Studies. Her father used to teach her and her sisters the importance of education. Paik released her first book in 2014 and second in 2022.
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