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New Delhi:
In the face of a spurt in the number of reported honour killings in
the country, couples marrying against their family wishes and khap
panchayat norms have a ray of hope as a novel civil society
initiative is reaching out to protect them.
Dubbing themselves 'Love Commandos,' a motley group of volunteers
comprising lawyers, journalists, professors, actors, students and
human rights activists are through a telephone helpline offering
counsel and safety to love-struck couples facing the wrath of
families and village elders.
"We receive calls from lovers from all over the country," says Harsh
Malhotra, a social activist and Chief Coordinator of the helpline
that has been operating out of a secret location.
Active from July 7, the helpline had on the first day itself
received hundreds of calls mostly frantic couples who rang up
seeking help.
The group requires member 'commandos' to be above 18 years of age
and without any political party affiliation. It currently has over
90,000 members and the numbers it claims have been swelling.
Around 2000 commandos are working round the clock at present for the
helpline.
Most of the calls received come from the areas in western Uttar
Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, regions from where most of the honour
killings have been reported.
"Upon receiving a call from the desperate lovers, Love Commandos
inform the police and also activate their legal cell in the area. If
police do not respond, they then promptly move court seeking legal
protection for the couple," Malhotra said.
The Love Commandos also help the lovers, who have crossed the
age-limit of 18, for girls and 19, in case of boys, in getting
married. The group also provides the services of priests, imams and
pandits to conduct marriage ceremonies.
Khap panchayats are local caste councils in northern India which are
against inter-caste and same gotra (sub-caste) marriages.
'Honour killings' have not been a new phenomenon in India, but in
recent times such killings are being reported at a much frequent
pace.
Some of the recent high-profile cases of alleged 'honour killing'
include that of Delhi-based 23-year-old journalist Nirupama Pathak
and Punjab University's 25-year-old research scholar Shama Shukla.
Some stories with happy endings have already started to pour in
after the efforts of the Commandos. In one such incident, they
managed to rescue a girl from a village in
Rewari district in Haryana after she called the commandos for help.
Facing strong resentment from her family over her choice of groom, a
girl, Shruti (name changed) rang up the helpline around midnight
asking for help.
"Commandos contacted the police and after the proper proof was
furnished to the police that her life is in danger, she was rescued
by a police team at 2:30 in the morning," says Malhotra.
However, in this battle to safeguard the love birds, even the 'Love
Commandos' are not safe. Malhotra says that they continuously
receive threats and that their effigies were burnt at several places
by right-wing activists.
This has also prompted Love Commandos to maintain utmost secrecy
over the place from where they operate their helpline. Nonetheless,
they have kept this fight on, and do so with courage and
determination.
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