The shoe at Justice Gavai, the blood of Hariom Valmiki — India’s unfinished struggle for dignity

By Martin Macwan* 

What is the “Supreme Court” of India, and who is Justice Bhushan Gavai? Many may not know. But even in the remotest village, Dalits know that someone from among “us” — a person of great stature — has been insulted by being struck with a shoe. The sense of humiliation resonates deeply, for in India, caste and insult are wounds that Dalits still live with every day.

An insult cuts deep. In the Supreme Court itself, a lawyer hurled a shoe at Justice Gavai, and just a few hours later, the government returned that very shoe to him so that he could wear it home. Forty-five years ago, in the villages of Gujarat’s Bhal region, if someone humiliated a Dalit by hitting them with a shoe, the Dalit was expected to clean it and return it to the assailant. The Golana massacre had its roots in a moment when three Dalit youths, for the first time, chased away a Rajput man who had barged into a Dalit girl’s house, leaving behind his slippers, handkerchief, and torch. For merely touching these, the community’s elders forced the Dalit youths’ father to pick up the items with his teeth and return them publicly. Back then, Dalits feared social boycott. But what, one wonders, does today’s government fear?

The insult to Justice Gavai is not merely a personal affront — it is an insult to the Constitution itself. India’s freedom was not only from British rule but from centuries of caste oppression. Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs, minorities, and women gained freedom together. To protect that freedom, the Constitution was framed, and the judiciary established to guard it. It is true that not everyone gets justice in the courts, but it is equally true that the judiciary has given the oppressed a sense of dignity. The shoe was thrown at the very idea of that dignity.

The incident took place on October 8, 2025. The man who threw the shoe expressed no remorse, claiming he acted under “divine command.” Many still believe caste hierarchy is ordained by God. Men — and many women too — believe that God created women as subservient beings. But God has no address, and there is no provision in Indian law to file a complaint against Him.

Justice Gavai did right in not filing a complaint. A judge cannot become a complainant; it is the government’s duty to protect the dignity of the judiciary.

There’s an old Gujarati saying: “Only the one who wears shoes knows where they pinch.” Those who have endured humiliation know the value of self-respect. It is natural for Dalits to feel that the shoe thrown at Justice Gavai hit them all. The progress that Dalits have achieved after three thousand years of oppression and struggle still rankles many. Those who dream of turning India into a “Hindu Rashtra” reject the vision of Dr. Ambedkar’s Constitution, where all Hindus share one cremation ground and one temple. If we were to publish a photo-book today showing the state of Dalit cremation grounds across India, the world would hang its head in shame.

The government, eager to protect its throne, will continue welfare schemes and reservations for Dalits — but it has no interest in ending caste discrimination. In a landmark judgment, the Himachal Pradesh High Court recently ruled that temple revenues must be used to eliminate untouchability.

Chief Justice Bhushan Gavai occupies his position because of his competence, learning, and experience — not because of his caste. To view him through the lens of caste is to reveal one’s own mental backwardness.

The humiliation of Dalit progress is not new, nor is this the last. From Haryana’s Additional Director General of Police Puran Kumar’s suicide following caste discrimination, to the Jaipur wedding where IPS officer Sunil Kumar could ride his wedding horse only under police protection; from the “Abhayam” shelter killing of Haresh for marrying outside his caste, to Hariom Valmiki’s live-streamed lynching in Uttar Pradesh just six days before the shoe incident — the list is long and shameful.

There is only one lesson to draw from all this: Move forward, keep moving forward, and never stop moving forward.

Many Dalit children still go to school barefoot. To walk on the road of progress wearing shoes is the ideological inheritance we received from Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Those who have advanced through reservation in government jobs bear a moral responsibility to hold the hands of children left behind and lead them toward education. Only then will Babasaheb’s call — “Educate, Organize, Agitate” — find true meaning, and our social unity grow stronger.

From November 26 to December 6, 2025, we at the Dalit Shakti Kendra, backed by Navsarjan Trust volunteers, shall celebrate the power that guided us from darkness to light. The arithmetic is simple: 1+1=2, and 1–1=0. During these ten days, those who have benefited from reservation will symbolically help Dalit children wear shoes — so that 1+1 indeed becomes 2. It is easy to strike back at one who insults you, but far harder — and far more meaningful — to turn that insult into action by empowering your own.

Remember: a true Dalit is one who believes in the equality of all.

Will you join in?

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*Founder, Dalit Shakti Kendra and Navsarjan Trust