New Delhi - In the executive committee meeting of the National Integration Assembly (NIA) which also helps the social causes including AIDS Prevention, NIA President Dr. Raj Baldev addressed on the spreading of AIDS, which is spreading at a drastic speed in India. He said, it is not decreasing as claimed by certain agencies, it is climbing up due to faulty policies of the Govt. and by furnishing low figures by certain Agencies.

Dr. Raj Baldev drew the attention of the house on the article that appeared in the Times of India, City Supplement, Delhi Times on its issue of 27th October under the caption 'To battle AIDS, legalize the oldest profession?'. He said that it had raised a very interesting and timely question whether the prostitution in India should be legalized or not?

Dr. Baldev continued: The article is of paramount importance for India since it can most certainly check the spread of AIDS. The prostitution is legal in many countries like Canada, France, Holland, Denmark etc. plus many more countries in South America.  Some countries have only permitted certain zones to carry out this profession, which includes Israel, Germany, Australia etc.

Though India has also allotted certain areas for this profession in certain big cities,  which serve only a fraction of the people and the majority of young women become call girls and they get HIV infections easily and the men who come to their contact also get infected to this deadly disease since there is no pre and after medical check on this unofficial flesh trade.

 If a proper legislation is adopted and this profession legalized, it shall surely combat the spread of AIDS?

Pankaj Khanna and Priyanka Srivastava have rightly understood the problem and brought this issue for debate. They have rightly said that the oldest profession of prostitution has survived since times immemorial, and has been treated with both contempt and dignified acceptance, depending on the social norms of the age.

Some of the figures given about AIDS in India by some agencies are doubtful that this disease is reducing, on the contrary it is going very high. In fact more and more people are hiding this disease and the majority of it becomes the victims of TB, which is shown under a separate head.  However, the Govt. cannot escape furnishing from the correct figures of HIV infected people.

India has a different culture, they avoid such publicity within their families. They try to get treatment from such sources, which may not be effective, but their preference is to avoid official clinics as much as possible.

The government officials and the ministries concerned at state and central level are keeping their eyes closed to the realities in city life. This sort of ban on prostitution is injurious to the health of nation in the long run, and it is also against the fundamental right of a person.  If the govt. cannot provide the job to the young females, and cannot support their survival, what business it has to plug the other avenues, which are open to them?

 In fact, the government is not applying its mind to solve this long outstanding matter.  They believe in crushing the sex workers rather than to feel them reality of this social problem, as they recently did in Mumbai.  The sex workers should be allowed to work freely and all arrangements should be made for their pre-checking to discourage venereal diseases including HIV infections.

It is a false propaganda of India's dignity if this profession is allowed freely. The reality is that it has become a big industry spread in all-important cities of India, all sections of people are involved, and still the govt. is sleeping.

The unemployed young girls have little job opportunities in cities.  Those girls who have no other means of survival, what should they do, should they commit suicide?    If the helpless young women choose to live by their own will, why the govt. is interfering in their private life? Better legalize it and make it free with medical facilities to check spread venereal diseases.

To arrest the sex workers by raiding their places and hotels is not the solution. It is more to defame rather than to help them. The answer is that time is ripe now, it has totally changed and the govt. should realize this problem seriously. Now time warrants proper freedom particularly for those young and helpless girls, who have no other means to survive for them and also to support their dependants, Dr. Raj Baldev concluded.

The NIA passed a resolution that the govt. should consider passing proper legislation as granted in other countries. The reason being that most of the people gets infected with HIV/AIDS and other venereal diseases, which can be avoided.

The resolution urges the HRD Ministry, Govt. of India  to make an amendment in the Prevention of Immoral Traffic Act (PITA), and also to take note of the Planning Commission's recommendation to sharpen the campaign against spread of HIV/AIDS by legalizing prostitution."

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