The American Institute of Indian Studies presents a conversation with historian Satya Shikha Chakraborty on her award-winning book, Colonial Caregivers: Ayahs and the Gendered History of Race and Caste in British India (Cambridge University Press, 2026).
Examining British imperial domestic life and exploitation from the mid-18th to the mid-20th century, Chakraborty’s work explores the experiences of South Asian maidservants, known as ayahs, and the intersections of race, caste, gender, and colonial power.
The book received the 2025 Edward Cameron Dimock, Jr. Prize in the Indian Humanities, awarded by AIIS.
Watch this insightful discussion on the AIIS official youtube channel.
Originally recorded on September 23, 2026.
