A police escort is a must when travelling in the Karwan-e-Mohabbat, or “Caravan of Love”.

Its leader, Harsh Mander, can see the irony. The caravan – an air-conditioned coach emblazoned with a banner proclaiming a message of love – is traversing seven Indian states in two weeks with a “call to conscience” for India’s Hindu majority.

The police presence, sirens blazing, has become a government requirement for Mander’s stops – each one with the family of a victim killed in violence motivated by caste or religious difference.

“We have to understand times of hatred are spreading like a contagion, and remaining silent amounts to condoning or actually supporting that violence tacitly,” says Mander, a veteran activist.

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