In the neon glow of New York City's Times Square, a digital storm has erupted, thrusting India's judicial heart into the heart of global diaspora drama. Massive billboards blasting Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai's image, with a shoe hurled mockingly at his head, have ignited a firestorm of debate.

Organized by the shadowy "Stop Hindu Genocide" group, the campaign demands an immediate apology from the nation's first Dalit CJI for what protesters call a "Hinduphobic" slight against Lord Vishnu. But as the displays flicker through November 12, critics are peeling back layers of controversy: accusations of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and casteism woven into the visuals, including alleged anti-Semitic cartoons alongside the caste-laden shoe imagery. With social media ablaze in division, some hailing it as a bold stand for Hindu pride, others decrying it as hate-fueled bigotry, calls are mounting for New York Mayor Eric Adams to intervene and pull the plug.

Times Square billboards are famous because they are huge, bright lights in New York's busiest spot, seen by over 300,000 people every day, like locals, tourists, and visitors from around the world. They get millions of views each year and turn normal ads into big, exciting stories that go viral online, just like old Coke or MTV campaigns that everyone remembers. That's why the "Stop Hindu Genocide" group put up billboards , one showing a shoe thrown at India's Chief Justice B.R. Gavai's face and asking him to apologise for mocking Lord Vishnu. They wanted the whole world to notice their anger and make a court room disagreement into a huge global issue, pulling in scattered Hindu people abroad to join their side.

What caused the uproar

The uproar traces back to a hearing on September 16, in the Supreme Court. During a hearing on a petition to restore a seven-foot Lord Vishnu idol at the UNESCO-listed Khajuraho temple complex in Madhya Pradesh, damaged in a 2023 vandalism incident, CJI Gavai, presiding over the bench, turned to the petitioner, a Hindu nationalist lawyer. "Why drag the court into this? Just pray to the deity itself," he remarked. The bench dismissed the plea as non-justiciable, deferring it to December for further review.

CJI Gavai's comments landed like a thunderbolt among devout Hindus. Sections of the right-wing interpreted it as sarcasm, a dismissal of sacred rituals as superstition. "It's not just a remark, it's mockery of our gods, our heritage," fumed members supporting the Stop Hindu Genocide campaign. For NRIs, many of whom left India amid economic pressures but cling fiercely to cultural roots, the comment struck a deeper chord.

"Why apologize? Because he's the guardian of the Constitution, yet he belittles the faith of 1.4 billion," protestors shouted, echoing the open letter on StopHinduGenocide.org, which accuses CJI Gavai of "anti-Hindu bias" and lists similar "offenses" by judges like former CJIs D.Y. Chandrachud and U.U. Lalit. The letter, viewed thousands of times since its November 8 launch, frames the demand as a global call: "Hindus abroad face erasure, don't let it start at home." Supporters argue it's about accountability, not attack; after all, NRIs contribute billions in remittances and remittances of pride, why not remittances of respect for their gods?

Social Media: A Battlefield of Beliefs

X (formerly Twitter) has become the campaign's coliseum, with #ApologizeToVishnu trending globally.Supporters, like @AvinashKS14, posted photos of the billboards: "Global Hindu Diaspora Exposes India's Anti-hindu CJI BR Gavai and Judges at famous NYC Times Square along with famous Times Square massive billboard showing his head with a shoe thrown at him demanding to apologize to Hindus worldwide and resign." @MeghUpdates amplified it: "Protests break out... calls for apology to Bhagwan Vishnu." For them, it's empowerment: "NRIs finally speaking up against elite bias," as one user put it. Another supporter wrote: " When faith is disrespected, silence is not an option. The voices at Times Square reflect the pride of a civilization that believes in tolerance, but never at the cost of its dignity or its gods."

The Times Square billboard scandal has ignited fierce outrage among Buddhist and Bahujan activists worldwide, who decry the shoe-flung humiliation of Dalit Chief Justice B.R. Gavai as a brazen assault on Bahujan identity exported to foreign soil. Bahujan scholars perceive this as not just an insult to one man, but a global slap to Ambedkar's legacy.