Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday expressed deep concern over the rising tide of caste hatred engulfing India, following two deeply disturbing incidents — the shoe attack on Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai, a Dalit, in Delhi, and the suicide of Dalit IPS officer Puran Kumar in Haryana after alleged caste-based harassment.
In a post on X, Arvind Kejriwal stated: “Dalit IPS officer Puran Kumar faced such unbearable caste discrimination that he ended his life. The culprits must face the strictest punishment. When the Chief Justice of India is attacked with a shoe, BJP trolls on social media abuse Dalits and even insult Babasaheb Ambedkar. What have they turned India into?”
On the other hand, addressing a press conference at the AAP headquarters on Friday, Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj said that in the case of the Dalit IPS officer’s suicide in Haryana, the Chief Secretary of Haryana and the head of the police force are themselves accused. “How can a fair investigation take place when the very heads of the state bureaucracy and police are the accused?” he asked.
The AAP Delhi unit chief said that most of the mainstream media, dominated by the upper-caste establishment, is deliberately ignoring this issue, while platforms like Facebook, X, and YouTube—run by more socially diverse groups—are giving it voice. “For the last three days, the Dalit community, the CJI, and Babasaheb B.R. Ambedkar have been openly abused in the most vile manner on social media. Yet, there are attempts to deny the existence of casteism online—often by the same people who are themselves spreading casteist hatred. These are the same individuals who proudly identify as Brahmins, claim superiority, and simultaneously try to deny the reality of caste discrimination,” he said.
Citing two recent incidents against Dalits, Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “First, a shoe was hurled at CJI B.R. Gavai, who belongs to a Dalit community. Following this, social media was flooded with poisonous content against him. The second case is from Haryana, where Dalit IPS officer Y. Puran Kumar, after years of caste-based harassment and humiliation, died by suicide on October 7. People often speak about the misuse of the SC/ST Act, but no one dies by suicide because of false complaints. This tragic incident exposes the bitter truth of casteism that even the most casteist people must acknowledge—those who spend their days and nights abusing Babasaheb Ambedkar.”
Saurabh Bharadwaj stated that hatred is being spread across the country in the name of religion, language, state, colour, and caste. “Some social media handles are being paid to spread hate. That is their livelihood. But those who retweet, like, and share such hateful posts must introspect—what have they turned this nation into?” he said.
Detailing the circumstances leading to the IPS officer’s death, Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “Puran Kumar was a senior IPS officer of the Haryana cadre. His wife is also an IAS officer. He was not allowed to enter a temple located inside the Ambala police station. When the IPS officer entered the temple, his persecution began. He was harassed to the extent that he repeatedly complained to the Haryana Chief Secretary, DGP, and other senior officials—but no action was taken. Instead, a conspiracy was hatched to implicate him in a false case. Eventually, he shot himself. Before his death, he left behind an eight-page suicide note, naming 15 senior officers from various castes. These are the very castes that control the nation’s resources and the media. There is no hope of justice from them. But the people on social media must ask themselves—when will this cycle of hate stop?”
Saurabh Bharadwaj further said, “Even during British rule, there wasn’t as much hatred as is being spread today against our own citizens. The central government remains silent, and neither the High Court nor the Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognizance of this matter. These courts often take notice of the smallest issues, but not when Dalits are involved. The courts have even taken suo motu cognizance of dog-bite cases, but when it comes to Dalits, there is no pain, no empathy. It feels as if Dalits have been relegated to a status even below that of dogs. The pain of Dalits is neither seen nor heard. Yet, the same people who perpetuate this will go to parties and claim, ‘Casteism does not exist; we are all equal.’ The reality is grim. After 11 years of BJP rule, the nation has been dragged into a swamp of hate so deep that it will take decades to recover.”
Making people from the same community insult their own is an old tactic to spread hate: Saurabh Bharadwaj
Responding to questions about the lawyer who hurled a shoe at the CJI and later claimed to be a Dalit, Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “Who says that a Dalit cannot hurl a shoe? Whether someone is a Dalit or a Brahmin makes no difference. But those clapping and dancing, calling it a ‘victory of Sanatan,’ are all anti-Dalit and the same people who abuse Ambedkar. It is an old BJP tactic—to make people from the same caste or religion abuse their own community. This has been happening for years. It does not matter whether the person who hurled the shoe is a Dalit or belongs to another caste—the mentality behind the act is a ‘toxic Savarna mindset,’ and that cannot be denied.”
