Saturday, October 25, 2014

India’s Love Commandos – and the runaway couples they protect...

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On first glance, it seems like a set of almost randomly sequenced images: couples relaxing, studio portraits, still lives, landscapes, lonely hearts newspaper ads, found images of posters and romantic inscriptions, and dramatic news stories.

But central to this rich visual narrative is a series of photographs of a four-man activist organisation called the Love Commandos. Based in Delhi, they operate on a shoestring from their small, cluttered office, manning a telephone helpline and website to provide advice and support – including safe rooms and shelters across India – for runaway couples who have fallen in love across the boundaries of caste or religion. The commandos have even sent out teams to rescue young people at risk of violence.

“The main function of the Love Commandos,” writes Hans Theys in his introduction to the book, “is to allow people to do this in safety and in accordance with the laws of India, and to prevent honour killings happening to the young couples.”

Though there is something romantic, even Bollywood-glamorous, about the idea of the Love Commandos, their work is dogged and dangerous. Pinckers punctuates the narrative with excerpts from their blog, often frantic or plaintive messages from people trapped by family or caste. A newspaper cutting found by Pinckers recounts how “Pooja Rani (24) and Shambau (26) ... were forced to elope to escape the ‘honour’ police hounding them for intending to marry outside their caste … Believing that dying is a better option than being chased by cops and kin, they were on the verge of committing suicide when the Love Commandos rescued them and gave them a place in one of their shelters.” Full story...

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