The Wire: Prejudice against Dalits
UC expert on Dalit culture: How prejudice can travel from India to the U.S.
In an article in The Wire adressing discrimination allegations against Cisco, Shailaja Paik, a University of Cincinnati associate professor in the Department of History, likens the modern-day expression of the centuries-old Indian caste system to the mutation of a virus. At a time when the world is reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, she says feels the caste system is an even more dangerous malaise — “a shape-shifting virus than travels across continents and mutates over time.”
Paik, who has extensively researched the oppression of Dalits, talks of the transnationalisation of caste, as Indians carry the baggage of caste across oceans, with dominant oppressor castes trying to recreate structures of power and privilege.
>Read a profile of Dr. Paik and her journey from the slums of India to academia
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
Sugar overload killing hearts
November 10, 2025
Two in five people will be told they have diabetes during their lifetime. And people who have diabetes are twice as likely to develop heart disease. One of the deadliest dangers? Diabetic cardiomyopathy. But groundbreaking University of Cincinnati research hopes to stop and even reverse the damage before it’s too late.
Is going nuclear the solution to Ohio’s energy costs?
November 10, 2025
The Ohio Capital Journal recently reported that as energy prices continue to climb, economists are weighing the benefits of going nuclear to curb costs. The publication dove into a Scioto Analysis survey of 18 economists to weigh the pros and cons of nuclear energy. One economist featured was Iryna Topolyan, PhD, professor of economics at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.
App turns smartwatch into detector of structural heart disease
November 10, 2025
An app that uses an AI model to read a single-lead ECG from a smartwatch can detect structural heart disease, researchers reported at the 2025 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association. Although the technology requires further validation, researchers said it could help improve the identification of patients with heart failure, valvular conditions and left ventricular hypertrophy before they become symptomatic, which could improve the prognosis for people with these conditions.