India, May 3 -- You might just miss it tucked away inside your newspaper. A few paragraphs that don't even begin to tell the story. The one of love, and dying for it. The one where choosing a partner is not just a radical act but also life-threatening.

The serious-looking bearded man, HM, tells me that he is a "survivor" of a painfully familiar tale. Falls in love with the "wrong" sort, as in wrong caste. There's another complication: She had been married off as a child, so, for her to fall in love as an adult with somebody else becomes a question of family honour; an honour vested in her and dependent on her toeing the line.

HM from Jaipur is telling me about the whispered phone calls. The restrictions on her movements. The threats. Th...