There are at least a few hundred cases reported where the Sudra and Dalit individuals were either murdered or permanently disabled by the upper caste to prevent them benefiting from education. There have been at least three-dozen cases reported from various parts of India in the past ten years where Dalits were blinded by the upper caste.
More than an immediate message to the individual Dalit or Sudra who has challenged the status quo by gaining education, these instances of violence are a larger message to the community the person belongs that those who dare to get enlightened will suffer.
Caste is a denominator that associates an individual from his cradle to his grave. On these grounds the caste system is even worse than slavery. Once born into a particular caste there is no escape from it.