Ms. Shailaja Paik is an Indian historian of modern Indian history who focuses on intersections of class, sexuality, and caste, with a particular emphasis on Dalit experiences and perspectives. She recently became the first Dalit scholar to receive the prestigious McArthur Fellowship. The MacArthur Foundation’s award - which includes a $800,000 [£615,000] stipend given over five years - isn’t just recognition for her research on caste, gender, and sexuality but a powerful endorsement of her ongoing mission: to unravel the ideas, actions, and lives of the oppressed.