Have a look at the biography, age and education of Shailaja Paik
Know more about Shailaja Paik, an Indian-American professor and historian, who’s making waves online after receiving an $80,000 grant. Not sure of what we’re talking about? Here’s the brief:
Earlier, reports surfaced indicating that an Indian American professor has been awarded an $800,000 or Rs.6.7 crore “genius” grant by the MacArthur Foundation. For the unfamiliar, the foundation annually recognizes individuals with extraordinary achievements and potential.
Who is University of Cincinnati prof Shailaja Paik, biography, age, family, education, caste and religion
As per reports, Shailaja Paik was awarded the grant for her research work which focuses on the experiences of Dalit women. Her research reportedly shed light on the ongoing realities of caste discrimination and the forces perpetuating untouchability.
Who is Shailaja Paik?
Indian-American age 50 Shailaja Paik is a Dalit Hindu and is distinguished research professor at the University of Cincinnati. She was born in Pohegaon, Maharashtra into a family where she was one of four daughters. Her family then relocated to Pune where she was raised in the Yerawada slum.
Paik earned her BA in 1994 and MA in 1996 from Savitribai Phule University and completed her PhD in 2007 at the University of Warwick. In 2005, she first went to the US on a fellowship university.
Paik holds affiliate faculty positions in Asian studies, women’s, gender, and s*xual studies. The MacArthur foundation not only highlighted her contributions, but also awarded her grant for her work.
As per the foundation, Shailaja Paik’s work “provides new insight into the history of caste domination and traces how gender and s*xuality have been used to deny Dalit women dignity and personhood.”
India’s casteist media is silent on this issue? Dalit Shailaja Paik, born in Yerawada, Pune, Maharashtra, has been named a UC professor MacArthur Fellow. She has received a scholarship of Rs 6 crore 71 lakh. Shailaja has received a ‘genius grant’ to continue her work with Dalits… pic.twitter.com/Zuj06tQbPQ
— Ashok Meghwal (@AshokMeghwal_) October 3, 2024
What Did Paik’s Research Reveal?
According to the media reports, Shailaja Paik’s recent work examined the lives of women performers in Tamasha, which is a folk theatre predominantly practiced by Dalit women in Maharashtra.
Her research work critiques the persistent stigma surrounding Dalit women in the folk theatre, despite state efforts to elevate the Tamasha article form. The foundation also noted that despite efforts to reframe the folk theatre in Marathi culture, the label of vulgarity still clings to women performing in Tamasha.
Moreover, her work also examines the narrative of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. Earlier, in an interview Shailaja Paik, who herself is a Dalit from Pune, shared how growing up in a slum and being inspired by her father’s commitment to education fueled her academic life.
She also revealed that after completing her Master’s degree at Savitribai Phule University in Pune, she went to pursue her PhD at the University of Warwick in the UK and later held a visiting assistant professorship at Yale University.