HIV/AIDS in India ─ Voices from the Margins

India ranks third in the number of people living with HIV/AIDS globally. The country also shares many traits with countries in sub-Saharan Africa that face high HIV prevalence rates. These include high levels of poverty and inequality, poor healthcare infrastructure, especially away from the metropolitan areas, and a shared legacy of colonialism that bequeathed laws criminalizing non-heteronormative sexualities.

This book explores the HIV/AIDS epidemic in India. Based on research in Tamil Nadu, the author presents experiences of those marginalized by their sexuality and/or gender. Male and female sex workers, men who have sex with men, aravanis (male to female transgenders) and HIV positive women are some of the groups that are not usually included in the analysis of Indian government agencies, international donors and international NGOs. The author uses an interdisciplinary approach, which highlights the historical and cultural context, while providing contemporary narratives. The book thus presents a deeper, multi-dimensional, understanding of the context of the disease and comprehend the roots of the stigma and discrimination that exacerbate the epidemic.

An important study of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, this book will be of interest to researchers in the field of South Asian Studies, sexuality and gender studies, Health Sciences and Public Health.

Sunita Manian is Professor of Political Economy and Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Liberal Studies at Georgia College and State University, USA.