On Monday, an unprecedented act of courtroom aggression unfolded in the Supreme Court of India. A lawyer named Rakesh Kishore took off his shoe and hurled it towards Chief Justice of India BR Gavai, shouting, “ Sanatan dharma ka apmaan, nahi sahega Hindustan.” India will not tolerate disrespect towards Sanatan Dharma (the term is used as a synonym for Hinduism).

The provocation, ostensibly, was an observation by the chief justice while dismissing a petition seeking the “rehabilitation” of a Vishnu idol in one of the Khajuraho temples under the Archaeological Survey of India.

This was not an ordinary outburst. It was a violent assertion of majoritarian sentiment directed at a Dalit occupying the highest judicial office – an act that sought to discipline the judiciary itself, warning

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