'Love Commandos' Crusade Against Honor Killings In India

In India, a group called "Love Commandos" has had enough with the honor killings that are plaguing Indian youths who wish to marry outside of their castes. The organization of love vigilantes was recently profiled in a report by GlobalPost, which reported on the oftentimes-dangerous circumstances couples in India find themselves.

While the country moves towards an increasingly Western way of life, many older generations are doing everything in their power, including killing, to maintain the tradition of arranged marriages within each caste. According to GlobalPost, the work done by Love Commandos is trying to curb so-called "honor killings" of young couples.

Love Commandos' founder Sanjoy Sachdeva told the news website, "Today, on our heads there is a bounty of around 20 lakh rupees [$40,000] from different khap panchayats." Khap panchayats are illegal village councils that are known for sanctioning the honor killings of young couples who dare marry across caste lines, GlobalPost reported.

According to non-profit Shakti Vahini, 560 cases of honor killings have occurred throughout India from 2007 to 2010. However, GlobalPost reports that some experts put that number at 1,000 honor kills a year.

In 2010, the Love Commandos formed of a group of former journalists and lawyers who wish to help doomed couples with food, shelter and protection, CNN reported. The organization has thousands of volunteers across India who not only provide legal assistance and man help lines, but also marry desperate couples.

The group deals with an average of 300 calls a day and has helped as many as 30,000 couples marry, Sachdeva told GlobalPost. "It is a war against fundamentalists," he told the news website. "It is a war against orthodox people-whether they are Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians or of any other religion. No religion preaches to hate love."

For now, it seems that young inter-caste couples only have the Love Commandos for support. According to Meenakshi Ganguly, the Southeast Asia director of Human Rights Watch, the group may accomplish what Indian officials have not been able to do-help these couples and curb the honor killings.

Ganguly told CNN, "There isn't a social worker network available to these young people who feel really isolated, so this group could be doing a wonderful thing." It certainly comes at the right time as younger generations fight to forge their own relationship decisions.