Love Commandos
LOVE COMMANDOS
The only national voluntary network to help love birds.
HELPLINE: +91 9313784375 / +91 9313550006
New Delhi – 3rd June, 2015
PRESS RELEASE:
THREE YEARS SINCE EPISODE 5 OF SATYAMEV JAYATE
It has been complete three 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 three years with you in brief once again.
The most beautiful, memorable and remarkable part is that despite passage of 3 years, the 6 minute clip is being downloaded almost every day by the youth in the country and even abroad. A large number remembers the words and dialogue used in the show. It means that the Massage of Mission Love is being spread every day by Satyamev Jayate.
Many times when we travel by public transport young girls and boys recognize us and thank our team leaders for the brave and great initiative.
This year again 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 are about to touch the mark of helping over 40,000 #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 Miriam Lyons, the maker of the film, Love Commandos continues to support us every now and then financially, Mr. John Stack also contributed. John Stack, working on Miriam Lyons-directed documentary on our work, ”The Love Commandos”, is one of the six executives selected as Broadcast’s second line-up of International Rising Stars.
Mr. Anupam Mittal of People’s group (Shaadi.com) had already contributed Fifty One Thousand Rupees and has further promised to contribute and support 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” scheduled to be released later this year 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.
Last year 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 had got exposed. As a matter of fact we had to shift our base shelter 6 times in two years for reasons of safety. Though we are still under heavy debts.
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 expenses 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 Uttar Pradesh where he had gone to help a victim lover. Heavily armed Agra police unlawfully barged into our base shelter once and made yet another unsuccessful attempt but thanks to the Commissioner of Delhi police for the timely help. However, the victim, Ankit from Agra, is still in Jail and we are extending all legal aid to him and hope he comes out at the earliest.
This year again we have become sponsors of Worldwide Honor Killing Candlelight Vigil on March 8th 2015. And again in 2016 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 are thankful to the Director General of Haryana Police who has issued a VAN massage to all police stations and police posts in the state to help love couples and to swiftly act upon our communications.
We would like to thank the police of Bhind (Madhya Pradesh) for swiftly rescuing a girl who had a love marriage in Mumbai, and restoring her to her husband.
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. There could have been a “Love Revolution”.
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 our motherly figure, Mrs. Veena Malhotra mother of our Chief Co-ordinator Mr. Harsh Malhotra and Delhi NCR Chief Co-ordinator Mr. Rajesh. All couples in our shelters had been treating her as their grandmother.
Last year we lost Sanjay of Agra due to illness. He had left behind his wife Arti, who also left for heavely abode this year due to illness leaving a very young son. The Couple 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. This year Lovebirds won the Best Screenplay award in New Delhi at 5th Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival.
Last 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 work of Max Pinckers was released this year and the book is continuously getting publicity and attention all over the world.
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. Many desired to remain anonymous this year.
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 and are regularly approaching 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 been contributing 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 sixth 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
