Often the making of a marriage is seen in the light of everything but love. Even in times when instances of courtship following marriage in 
order of chronology are becoming rarer, arranged marriages still don’t raise many an eyebrow. But what are the implications of swapping medical histories in addition to the material reconnaissance that is a staple precursor to these alliances? Although “there are no conclusive evidences that prove pre-marital HIV testing has reduced the number of AIDS cases in places that have introduced this law”, according to Tripti of Lawyers Collective Mumbai (organization dedicated to solving cases related to HIV), it is largely the dominance and popularity of arranged marriages in our culture that has stirred debates about the viability of mandatory pre-marital HIV testing for both the parties. However perfect the idea of matching a HIV negative with a negative and rejecting a HIV positive might sound to the ears, there are some compelling contentions and reservations against making it a law that can’t be ignored.
While of all the causes of contracting the infection, “unprotected sex is the most prevalent form,” says Anil, a government employee (from his seven years of experience of creating awareness about the disease), it is the taboo attached to being a HIV+ that makes people refrain from getting tested. “I came close to this struggle that an HIV+ person goes through in terms of the way society treats them and the trauma that the family goes through only when my best friend went through it. Sadly, despite being in the medical profession, he made the mistake of visiting prostitutes. Even though his family stood by him, he remained without a marital partner until his death”, regretfully recalls Anil who after his friend’s demise started a portal www.positivesaathi.com to facilitate matrimonial alliances between HIV+ people across the world. His one and a half year old portal has already registered more than five hundred people and has helped many positive people find partners, the most recent being Chaya Tope of Pune and Yogesh of Canada....Continue
order of chronology are becoming rarer, arranged marriages still don’t raise many an eyebrow. But what are the implications of swapping medical histories in addition to the material reconnaissance that is a staple precursor to these alliances? Although “there are no conclusive evidences that prove pre-marital HIV testing has reduced the number of AIDS cases in places that have introduced this law”, according to Tripti of Lawyers Collective Mumbai (organization dedicated to solving cases related to HIV), it is largely the dominance and popularity of arranged marriages in our culture that has stirred debates about the viability of mandatory pre-marital HIV testing for both the parties. However perfect the idea of matching a HIV negative with a negative and rejecting a HIV positive might sound to the ears, there are some compelling contentions and reservations against making it a law that can’t be ignored.While of all the causes of contracting the infection, “unprotected sex is the most prevalent form,” says Anil, a government employee (from his seven years of experience of creating awareness about the disease), it is the taboo attached to being a HIV+ that makes people refrain from getting tested. “I came close to this struggle that an HIV+ person goes through in terms of the way society treats them and the trauma that the family goes through only when my best friend went through it. Sadly, despite being in the medical profession, he made the mistake of visiting prostitutes. Even though his family stood by him, he remained without a marital partner until his death”, regretfully recalls Anil who after his friend’s demise started a portal www.positivesaathi.com to facilitate matrimonial alliances between HIV+ people across the world. His one and a half year old portal has already registered more than five hundred people and has helped many positive people find partners, the most recent being Chaya Tope of Pune and Yogesh of Canada....Continue
