Shailaja Paik faced prejudice because of her family's Dalit caste and her gender. As a historian she's written ground-breaking books on India's Dalits and is now a MacArthur 'genius grant' awardee.
When Dutt was a kid, her family pretended to be rich so no one would suspect their caste identity. In her memoir, she talks of her struggles — and her decision to publicly declare she is a Dalit.
