The recent shoe attack on Chief Justice BR Gavai, shocking as it may seem, is not an isolated act of disrespect against an individual. The act, reportedly inspired by a god, is a symptom of a malaise that has been festering, but is beyond cure.

It is a refresher on how caste, that ancient and poisonous hierarchy, continues to infect our public consciousness — so deeply that even those who hold the highest constitutional offices are not immune to its sting. The attack was an assault on the fragile idea of equality itself.

For decades, India has sought to project itself as a modern, democratic nation built on the ruins of caste discrimination. Yet, beneath the façade of technological progress and economic triumph, caste continues to dictate the terms of social life.

Recent events across the country reveal the disturbing undercurrents of caste violence and prejudice. Dalit students continue to die by suicide under institutional and social discrimination. Atrocities are shrugged off as "local disputes." And when an attack or humiliation is too blatant to ignore, the establishment swiftly moves to rebrand it as a "non-issue."

The intent is to erase the visibility of caste oppression, much like when Modi covered up the slums in Gujarat behind a wall in 2020 during Donald Trump's visit.

The rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party has only deepened this crisis. Though cloaked in slogans of cultural pride and "sabka saath," the party cannot lose its ideological roots in Hindutva.

Attempts are being made to normalise anti-Dalit sentiments. Despite being suspended by the Bar Council of India after hurling a shoe at CJI BR Gavai for his alleged anti-Hindu remarks, 71-year-old lawyer Rakesh Kishore has remained defiant, telling the media he has "no regrets" over his actions.

Pro-Hindutva voices are fuelling disinformation against the CJI. Recently, on his YouTube channel, a right-wing influencer, Ajeet Bharti, along with Kaushlesh Rai and Anupam Singh, the editor of Opindia, was inciting people.

During the conversation, Kaushlesh says, "I'm a Gandhian. I don't support violence. If I did, I would have said, 'Look, if Gavai ji gets into a fight, he lives in the courthouse, and there are Hindu lawyers there. At least one Hindu lawyer should grab Gavai ji's head and hit him hard against the wall, so that it breaks into two pieces. But I don't support violence at all.'"

During the conversation, Ajeet Bharti had also suggested surrounding Justice Gavai's car. Kaushlesh Rai goes on to say, "Oct 2nd is coming, what Godse did is beyond your capability ... What is the max punishment for spitting in Gavai's face under the IPC? Not more than six months? It's nothing more than that. Hindus can't even do this?"

The idea of a unified Hindu nation cannot coexist with the radical equality that Dalit emancipation demands. Hence, while Dalits are paraded as symbols of inclusion, their lived reality is far too different.

India cannot claim moral greatness while millions live under the shadow of inherited indignity. Until caste ceases to define worth, every shoe hurled, every atrocity denied, and every silence will remind us that freedom without equality is merely a lie we tell ourselves.