India: 'Love Commandos' fight back against honor killings
As inter-caste 'love marriages' become increasingly common, a Guardian Angels-style vigilante group has emerged to protect young couples.
NEW DELHI, India — Forbidden love is blooming in India. But so is war. And the“Love Commandos” are fighting on the front lines.
“Today, on our heads there is a bounty of around 20 lakh rupees [$40,000] from different khap panchayats,” said Love Commandos' founder Sanjoy Sachdeva, referring to the illegal village councils that are notorious for sanctioning the so-called “honor killings” of young couples who violate social taboos to marry across caste lines.
He's not exaggerating. Young Indians are fast adopting Western lifestyles. But as the parallel forces of affirmative action and women's empowerment increasingly bring young people from different castes and religious backgrounds together in colleges and call centers, defying the country's centuries-old tradition of arranged marriages can get you tortured, arrested, or even killed.
As inter-caste 'love marriages' become increasingly common, a Guardian Angels-style vigilante group has emerged to protect young couples.
NEW DELHI, India — Forbidden love is blooming in India. But so is war. And the“Love Commandos” are fighting on the front lines.
“Today, on our heads there is a bounty of around 20 lakh rupees [$40,000] from different khap panchayats,” said Love Commandos' founder Sanjoy Sachdeva, referring to the illegal village councils that are notorious for sanctioning the so-called “honor killings” of young couples who violate social taboos to marry across caste lines.
He's not exaggerating. Young Indians are fast adopting Western lifestyles. But as the parallel forces of affirmative action and women's empowerment increasingly bring young people from different castes and religious backgrounds together in colleges and call centers, defying the country's centuries-old tradition of arranged marriages can get you tortured, arrested, or even killed.
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