On Monday, a shocking act unraveled in the Supreme Court when advocate Rakesh Kishore, 72, hurled his shoe at Chief Justice of India BR Gavai. What followed was worse–justification of criminality in the name of God, and its online celebration as a defiant act of courage.

First, Kishore justified this blatant breach of judicial decorum as retribution for an alleged insult to “Sanatan Dharma,” claiming divine instruction for his act of aggression. Instead of being ashamed of his crass behaviour at the ripe age of 72, he was unapologetic. Soon after, this violent act was lauded by a section of the Hindu right-wing as a courageous defense of their faith–Santan Dharma– against perceived judicial blasphemy.

What this spectacle exposes, beyond the immediate breach of court protocol, is a prof

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