The Dalit Woman who became a Real-Life 'Slumdog Millionaire'

She said emerging from an extreme poverty and outsider status to a position of strength and wealth had certainly been satisfying. In a country ranked by the United Nations as one of the world's most dangerous places to be born a girl, given high female infanticide, inferior healthcare and nutrition, made her rise more extraordinary.

She has had her share of speed bumps or caste-related jibes, but she has tried to channel anger and frustration into getting things done. She said "I'm aware people may still look down on me because I'm a dalit. But even when I was very agitated, I never lost my cool, always trying instead to find my way out of difficult situations."

Saroj was born in Repatkhedha, a little village in the state of Maharashtra, the eldest daughter of a homemaker and a policeman. Dalits were barred from drinking from Brahmin wells, and school for her was an eight-mile walk on dirt paths, with occasional beatings by upper-caste children.

When she was 8, she asked her mother why she had to go through this, and was told to accept her fate. She said "This was my world. I didn't really think about it."