Love Commandos
LOVE COMMANDOS
The only national voluntary network to help love birds.
HELPLINE: 00 91 9313784375/9313550006
New Delhi – 3rd June, 2014
PRESS RELEASE:
TWO YEARS SINCE EPISODE 5 OF SATYAMEV JAYATE
It has been complete two years today when episode 5 of Satyamev Jayate Season 1 was telecasted that featured Team Love Commandos, including myself, our Chief Co-ordinator Mr. Harsh Malhotra, Commando Co-ordinator Mr. Sonu Rangi and Delhi-NCR Chief Co-ordinator Mr. Rajesh. We would like to share our experience of two years with you in brief once again.
This year we were the only National organization that campaigned for ” None Of The Above – NOTA ” and got support of more than 67,00,000 youth all over the country. We express our thanks to them and hope that if the political parties do not mend their ways and agenda to support the lovers, the massage would reach more youth.
This year we crossed the mark of helping over 25,000 #LoveCouples in getting married and settled. But still the figure is too small as compared to the huge population of the youth in the country. Love marriages are an instrument to end caste and religious bias, evils of dowry and much more and the youth in general is understanding its importance now. We always remember that Lord Shiva & Maa Parvati was the first ever inter caste #LoveCouple and we all should understand the massage.
The past year has been wonderful and awesome. We are grateful to Mrs. Kiran Rao, wife of Mr. Aamir Khan, who moderated Good Pitch² during Mumbai International Film Festival in February 2014 and she herself motivated and requested people to come forward to help us for the cause. Her appeal gave a good result. Mr. Anupam Mittal of Shaadi.com came forward and became co-producer of International documentary on our work being made by RISE Films (UK). Miriam Lyons, the maker of the film, continues to support us every now and then financially, Mr. John Stack also contributed.
Mr. Anupam Mittal of People’s group (Shaadi.com) has already contributed Fifty One Thousand Rupees and has further promised to contribute and support us. Mr. Alfred Arambhan of the Arambhan Group has also assured us of support and we have faith that soon his support would reach us. UN Women, BRITDOC and many others also got motivated by the appeal of Mrs. Kiran Rao and we hope that the documentary “Love Commandos” becomes a hit worldwide. Many national and international journalists reported our appearance in the popular show resulting in good and morale boosting response from all over the world.
We got the biggest single go financial support from Björn Borg AB, a Swedish company of Tennis Legend and eleven times world champion recently. It was a timely help as our base shelter got exposed and we shifted quickly to a temporary place. We would soon be moving to another safer place. As a matter of fact we had to shift our base shelter 3 times in one year for reasons of safety. Though we are still under heavy debts but have succeeded in repaying only approx. five percent of the loans. We have new rays of hope now. Björn Borg AB has assured more and more support and have launched www.UniteTheLovers.com for our cause.
Josh Israel, an LA based garment manufacturer has given us a hope for the future and we look forward to that.
Definitely our exposure increased many times since then and also our responsibilities. Our debts and threats also increased many fold simultaneously. There have been donations, help and more international exposure but expenses go on increasing every day. Huge numbers of Love Couples have been calling us and we had to accommodate large numbers in our shelters. We are thankful to the media fraternity from India and abroad that has constantly been helping us and also some donations from believers of Love, but is not sufficient to meet the expenses. There have been many penniless couples also and we had to meet the actual expences on their lawful marriage, protection process, documentation etc. In many cases when they had less funds we had to put in the remaining to keep them united and safe.
Our Commando Trainer Mr. Sunil Sagar had a miraculous escape during an operation in Rajasthan where he had gone to help an inter caste Love Couple.
This year we became sponsors of Worldwide Honor Killing Candlelight Vigil on March 8th 2014. And again in 2015 we shall be co-sponsors worldwide.
A chain of make shift shelters has grown in the country and the figure is 250 plus. These are places of residence or stay of couples helped by us in the past. Now they are helping others as a First Aid. We salute their spirit of taking Mission Love to each and every corner of the country. We are hopeful that the chain grows more and reaches every nook and corner of the country.
We have, despite our efforts, not been able to achieve release of Shivali Soni, girlfriend of Dr. Abhishek Koshale, but are determined to do that. We could not succeed in helping Yogesh Gulia as his girlfriend backed out due to family pressure and the police played a suspicious role despite standing directions in such matters from Madras High Court, but shall see that he gets justice. We are still fighting for many more.
We must thank the National Commission for Human Rights and the National Commission for Women, for the help being extended to our cause and on the issues raised by us.
We had many and much hopes of help from Mr. Amir Khan as he himself had promised during the final recording in March 2012 but he chose not to help us directly at that time by way of contribution through SMS and other donations. He can be better judge. Yes, we are thankful to him for giving us a nice stay at VITS Hotel, Mumbai and plenty of food to eat. He gave us air tickets and travel vehicles. But his indirect help goes on pouring in and we have large hopes that he would definitely do something much bigger in the future for us and for the cause. We remember he said, “Time lagega – Bahut aacha hoga” (टाइम लगेगा – बहुत अच्छा होगा) and now things are moving in that direction. We apologize that we could not reach the height of his mind for a long term help to us and now a chain has started growing.
Our journey started with Ms. Ritu Bhardwaj approaching us, said to be for a TV Programme on Doordarshan. She met many couples in North, South and Western India that were or being helped by Love Commandos. We gave her contacts of many more people who appeared in the show too. It was only when Ms. Swati and others from Mumbai reached our base shelter for some recording that we came to know that it would be Mr. Aamir Khan’s show. We came to know about Satyamev Jayate only during the final recording at Mumbai in March 2012.
A lot happened during the recording. Our Chief Co-ordinator Mr. Harsh Malhotra mentioned the same gotra marriage of Lord Ram with Sita, But was edited. In our opinion had that part been there things and mindset of people in whole of the country would have changed.
All the young couples in the show were from Love Commandos, be it Lokendra & Fehmida, Rajveer & Madhuri and even Ravinder & Shilpa, who accompanied Team Love Commandos from Delhi. Yes, we salute Martyrs Manoj & Babli, Rizwanur, Abdul Hakim and others at the same time.
This year we lost Sanjay of Agra due to illness. He has left behind his wife Arti and a son. He had appeared in almost all initial print and electronic news items on us and even featured as a lead in the Italian documentary Lovebirds – The Rebel Lovers. The documentary has been shown at Monterey Bay Chapter of the United Nations Association of the USA in November 2013 film festival and many other festivals too. We need to support them also and seek everyone’s kind help for that.
This year two books, The Case of Love Commandos and Love Commando got released by international writers. An exhibition in The Europalia.India cultural festival that was jointly inaugurated in Brussels on 04-Oct-2013 by the Hon’ble President of India Pranab Mukherjee and His Majesty King Philippe of Belgium carried many pictures of our work. A book on this is scheduled to be released after 3 days.
We must not forget to mention continued support from Judith Klee, Ms. Bonnie S Zara, Mr. Aasheesh Aggarwal, Mrs. Katyal, Crista De Brabanter, Christine Brindle, Shilpi Chongle, Purnima Singh, Daniela Dar-Crutz, Marton Kiss, students of social justice Research Center – University of Wyoming, Mr. Manish Sharma from USA, Riccardo Chartroux and a number of believers of love from India and abroad. Still we need much more and from many more.
We must thank Royal Bird Entertainment, a theater group that organized events to support our cause twice.
We admit and agree that after the telecast our exposure has increased and resultantly huge numbers of Lovers in distress have approached us which has caused further weakening of our financial condition and increase in debts. But we continue to fight for the cause undeterred, with the hope for a new India full of Love and Lovers. We must thank a number of legal experts that continue to help us for the cause in various High Courts and District courts but still we need more committed friends everywhere.
We must thank Mr. Vinayy Sharma of www.GandhiG.com who has contributed the site, Facebook page and Google+ page for the cause and is maintaining it voluntarily making thousand of lovers and media persons reach us and express themselves.
“ Pyar Karna Paap Nahin Hai – Virodhi Hamara Baap Nahi Hai ”
“ प्यार करना पाप नहीं है – विरोधी हमारा बाप नहीं है ”
We may have forgotten many important things to share, but you may all remind and correct us for that. In 34 days we shall be entering fifth year of our 24X7 non-stop service of the youth in love and hope that the next year would me more wonderful. More people in love and believers of love shall come forward and help us materially of financially.
And finally we request you to come forward and help us. You may visit our website and have our account details.
Looking forward to hear from all of you.
Sanjoy Sachdev
CHAIRMAN
Email: , ,
HELPLINE: 09313784375 / 09313550006
Website: www.LoveCommandos.org
Twitter: lovecommandosin
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Skype: lovecommandos
