Sent on ‘long leave’ by school, HIV +ve teacher says he will fight for his ‘pride’

“They told me that they got to know about me being HIV-positive on social media where people were congratulating me and my wife. They said parents of my students were scared that I might infect them,” he told The Indian Express.

The teacher married a HIV-positive woman last week, who works in a cafe in south Kolkata that is run by people who themselves are infected by the virus.

He claimed that he never attempted to hide this fact from the school authorities. “I never hid this. I am not an AIDS patient. I am just HIV-positive. In this day and age, educated people should be aware of that,” he added.

He feels that this is the “darkest” phase of his life. “When I realised that I was HIV-positive in 2019, I went into depression. I contemplated suicide even, but my sister convinced me that I could carry on with my life normally. I read on the issue and realised that with medication I could do everything I wanted to do. I even started counselling fellow HIV-positive people. But this incident has taken away all my confidence,” he said.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), HIV-positive people can be treated by “a combination of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs” and they can live long and healthy lives.

The 34-year-old, who received a lot of backlash after local media channels revealed his identity, says his sister is being targeted by her neighbours now. “At times, there is a crowd of curious onlookers outside her house. Now I don’t care if people know about me. I want to fight it out,” he said.

When contacted, West Bengal Minister for Women and Child Development and Social Welfare Shashi Panja said that this incident showed that there is an “acute lack” of awareness about HIV. “It shows that there is hardly any awareness about these issues in our country. We need to take steps to address this. HIV is transmitted through some specific processes. Denial or termination of employment because of such issues is a punishable offence,” said Panja.

Kallol Ghosh, an activist who runs a cafe where the teacher’s wife works, claims that employability of HIV-positive people is still a big issue. “This incident shows how difficult it is for an HIV-positive person to find a job. Yes, there is relatively more acceptability now, but we still have a long way to go.”

Meanwhile, the Administrator General of West Bengal met the teacher, assuring him quick action. “He asked me if I want to return to this school, which I don’t want to. There is too much humiliation there. I just want an official apology,” he said.

When The Indian Express reached out for a comment, the secretary of the school committee said the teacher was sent on long leave but his employment was not terminated. “We run a special institution where students have mental disabilities and learning difficulties. Sometimes, children get physically aggressive and the caregivers have to constantly deal with that. In such a situation, many parents were worried about their child contracting the disease. That’s why we wanted some time to think over it. Our intention was not to terminate his employment,” he added.