Malvika Raj

Malvika Raj is an Indian artist and fashion designer. She works in the Madhubani style of art. As a Dalit, she has used art to express her experiences with caste-based discrimination in India, and uses traditional techniques to express themes relating to Dalit identity and the Buddhist religion.

Life Raj is from Patna, Bihar, and studied at the Northern India Institute of Fashion Technology in Mohali, Punjab.

Career Raj initially worked as a fashion designer in Delhi, but returned home to Patna for health-related reasons. While recuperating at home, she trained in Madhubani techniques with artist Ashok Biswas. Raj has stated that this incident, among others, made her averse to depicting Hindu mythology in her art. Raj's work accordingly uses Madhubani techniques and styles, but her imagery draws from political and social aspects of the historical and ongoing discrimination faced by Dalits as a result of the caste system in India, from Buddhism and the history of Dalit conversion to that faith, as well as from Dalit political leaders and social reformers like B R. Ambedkar, and Savitribai Phule. She also paints scenes depicting Buddhist imagery, including events from the life of the Buddha, and has stated that her first painting depicted a scene from the Buddha's life. Raj's work has been exhibited in India, at the Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and Lalit Kala Akademi in Delhi. In addition to art, Raj is also an entrepreneur who designs clothing which bear Madhubani motifs, and she also teaches rural woman to paint on dresses. Her work has been used as illustrations in articles on contemporary Dalit politics and identity in Outlook, and Mint. Raj has recently illustrated 'Savitribai Phule and I’, a book authored by Sangeeta Mulay.