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Abstract
The response to HIV is more dependent on the support of social leaders than most other diseases. Over the past decade, involving faith-based leaders in prevention programmes has become a cornerstone of the response in many regions, particularly in Africa. Until now, this has largely involved the mobilization of Christian faith-based leaders or the Muslim ulema in the case of Uganda. Hindu-faith-based leaders have never been mobilized in any organized form until recently. This is partly due to the immense plurality of Hindu sects which mitigates against any kind of unilinear organization and partly due to denial by leading Hindu figures. The recent formation of the Hindu Leaders' Caucus on HIV and AIDS is a novel development and more so is the commitment by more than 50 prominent Hindu religious leaders to incorporate HIV messages into their religious discourses. This article examines the complexity of putting together such a coalition, the challenges in sustaining it and the issues raised by many Hindu-faith-based leaders with respect to HIV which shed light on deeper narratives of health, society and well-being within Hinduism.
Acknowledgements
Nalin Mehta worked for UNAIDS (2008–2009) and was one of its focal coordinators with Art of Living for the Hindu Leaders Caucus on HIV and AIDS. Upahar Pramanik has coordinated UNAIDS follow-up efforts with the Caucus. The views expressed in this paper are their personal views and do not reflect the official policy or position of UNAIDS or any other institution. Designations of officials/leaders cited are accurate as of December 2008.
Notes
1. Swami Samarapananada Giri, Prajnana Mission, Hariharananda Gurukulam, Puri, speech at Hindu Leaders Caucus on HIV and AIDS (Bangalore: June 2, 2008).
2. Denis Broun, opening speech at First Hindu Religious Leaders Caucus (Bangalore: June 1, 2008).
3. UNAIDS is the Joint UN Programme on HIVand AIDS. Set up in 1995, it works as a lead UN agent on HIV, working with its 10 co-sponsors – UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank.
4. Art of Living, Report on Faith in Action: Hindu Leaders Caucus on HIV and AIDS 1–2 June 2008.
5. Speech at Hindu Leaders Caucus on HIV and AIDS by K. Sujatha Rao, Special Secretary and Director General, National AIDS Control Organization, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (Bangalore: June 1, 2008).
6. UNAIDS was created out of a realization that the pandemic could not be countered by a traditional public health approach. In recent years, with much greater awareness of HIV, there is a move towards mainstreaming HIV efforts and integrating them with general health systems strengthening.
7. Oscar Fernandes, speech at Hindu Leaders Caucus on AIDS (Bangalore: June 2, 2008).
8. Sarvabhauma Das, ‘International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Mayapur, Vrindavan’.
9. See, for instance, IMPACT, HIV/AIDS Prevention Care and Support Across Faith-Based Communities; Chambre, ‘The Changing Nature of “Faith” in Faith-Based Organizations’, 435–55; Sciortino et al., ‘Learning from Islam’, 86–96; Marshall, ‘Development and Religion’, 339–75; Ocigbo et al., ‘The HIV/AIDS Epidemic in African–American Communities’, 615–53; and ‘Is Religion a Barrier to HIV Prevention?’, 1–50.
10. ‘Why UNAIDS Is Reaching Out to Faith Based Organisations?’, Internal UNAIDS document prepared for Hindu Leaders Caucus on HIV (n.d.).
11. ‘Role of Religious Leaders in HIV Work’, Presentation by J.V. Prasada Rao, Director, UNAIDS Regional Support Team, Asia and the Pacific, presentation at First Hindu Religious Leaders Caucus (Bangalore: June 1, 2008).
12. ‘Why UNAIDS is Reaching Out to Faith Based Organisations?’, Internal UNAIDS document prepared for Hindu Leaders Caucus on HIV (n.d.).
13. Ibid. A good example of global UNAIDS outreach efforts is the high-level working group strategic development meeting held in Geneva between 9 and 11 April 2008 which included representatives of all co-sponsors (UNDP, UNICEF, WHO, UNFPA, UNESCO), World Conference of Religions and Peace, World Vision, INERELA (International Network of Religious Leaders Living With or Affected by HIV & AIDS), Islamic Relief Worldwide and AINA.
14. From the plan of action developed by churches, ecumenical and church-related organizations in Africa, Europe and North America and the World Council of Churches at the Global Consultation on the Ecumenical Response to HIV/AIDS in Africa, Nairobi, November 2001. Quoted in UNICEF, What Religious Leaders Can Do About HIV/AIDS.
15. UNESCAP, ‘For Goodness Sake!: Asia-Pacific Faith-Based Organisations Battle HIV/AIDS’, 113.
16. UNICEF, What Religious Leaders Can Do About HIV/AIDS, 7–8.
17. Ibid., 8.
18. See UNAIDS, A Faith Based Response to HIV in Southern Africa.
19. ‘Why UNAIDS is Reaching Out to Faith Based Organisations?’, Internal UNAIDS document prepared for Hindu Leaders Caucus on HIV (n.d.). IMAU's adapted curriculum provides information on a variety of topics in relation to HIV and AIDS, including basic facts, risk perceptions, prevention information, safer sex, gender, and adolescence. The curriculum also includes information addressing practices common in Uganda's Muslim communities such as circumcision. Each topic is tied to specific objectives related to HIV risk reduction. IMAU trainers conduct three-day workshops for imams to work through the culturally appropriate curricula. In addition to home visits, imams discuss HIV and AIDS during religious gatherings. IMAU programme information reproduced from http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1161&Itemid=177 (accessed September 5, 2009).
20. ‘Role of Religious Leaders in HIV Work’, Presentation by J.V. Prasada Rao, Director, UNAIDS Regional Support Team, Asia and the Pacific, presentation at First Hindu Religious Leaders Caucus (Bangalore: June 1, 2008).
21. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0206/22/i_dl.00.html (accessed September 4, 2009).
22. Ramadoss, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, ‘India: Upscaling the Response’.
23. Commission on AIDS in Asia, Redefining AIDS in Asia.
24. Ramadoss, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, ‘India: Upscaling the Response’.
25. Rafique, AIDS Community Consolidated Reply.
26. Ibid.
27. See, for instance, ‘The Story of Shyamanand Jha’, In Our Voice, 55–6.
28. Interview with Ranjan Dwivedi (New Delhi: November 18, 2008).
29. For the origins of the VHP, see, for instance, Jaffrelot, The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics.
30. Jaffrelot, The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics, 1.
31. See, for instance, Frykberg, ‘The Emergence of Modern Hinduism as a Concept and As an Institution’ and O'Connell, ‘The Word “Hindu” in Gaudiya Vaishnava Texts’, 340–4.
32. Thapar, ‘Syndicated Moksha?’, 17.
33. Nandy, The Intimate Enemy, 25.
34. Ibid., 103.
35. These arguments are summarized in Lorenzen, ‘Who Invented Hinduism?’, 630–59.
36. Ibid.
37. Dube, ‘The Study of Complex Cultures’, 423.
38. Thapar, ‘Imagined Religious Communities?’, 216.
39. Jaffrelot, The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics, 2.
40. Nandy, The Intimate Enemy, 103.
41. Nandy et al., Creating a Nationality, vii.
42. Radhakrishnan, ‘Hinduism’, 61.
43. Thapar, ‘Syndicated Moksha?’, 17.
44. Nandy, The Intimate Enemy, 21.
45. Ibid., 24.
46. Ibid., 25.
47. Ibid.
48. Swami Vivekananda quoted in Denis Broun, opening speech at First Hindu Religious Leaders Caucus (Bangalore: June 1, 2008).
49. Rig Veda, Mandal 10, Sukta 191, Mantra 2 and 3, quoted in ibid.
50. ‘Role of Religious Leaders in HIV Work’, presentation by J.V. Prasada Rao, Director, UNAIDS Regional Support Team, Asia and the Pacific, presentation at First Hindu Religious Leaders Caucus (Bangalore: June 1, 2008).
51. ‘Saints’ here refers to the gathered Hindu leaders. It was used repeatedly by the participants to refer to each other and its usage differs from the traditional Christian definition of the term.
52. ‘Sanatan dharma can be translated in many ways: eternal religion, eternal law, unshakeable order, ancient and continuing guidelines. Since the nineteenth century, the term has been used by a number of religious leaders and reformers to denote what they saw as the eternal practices of Hinduism’. Jha, ‘Constructing the Hindu Identity’, 220–5.
53. Art of Living, Report on Faith in Action: Hindu Leaders Caucus on HIV and AIDS 1–2 June, 2008, 3.
54. See www.pfaindia.in (accessed January 30, 2009).
55. http://www.artofliving.org/AboutUs/tabid/60/Default.aspx (accessed November 20, 2008).
56. Ibid. We are grateful to Richa Chopra, Central Projects, Art of Living for detailedinformation on its developmental activities.
57. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar interview with Anubha Bhonsle, telecast on CNN-IBN (December 2008).
58. Swami Agniwesh, closing speech at Hindu Leaders Caucus on HIV and AIDS (Bangalore: June 2, 2008).
59. Swami Samarapananada Giri, Prajnana Mission, Hariharananda Gurukulam, Puri, speech at Hindu Leaders Caucus on HIV and AIDS (Bangalore: June 2, 2008).
60. Pravin Togadiya, ‘Hindu Leaders Caucus on HIV and AIDS’ presentation at Hindu Leaders Caucus on HIV and AIDS (Bangalore: June 2, 2008).
61. Sarvabhauma Das, ISKCON, Mayapur, Vrindavan, article presented at Faith in Action – A Hindu Leaders Caucus on HIV/AIDS, June 1–2, 2008.
62. Ibid.
63. Sri Gangadhar, speech at Hindu Leaders Caucus on HIV and AIDS (Bangalore: June 2, 2008).
64. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, closing remarks at the caucus, quoted in UNAIDS press release, ‘Hindu Seers Vow to Combat AIDS’, June 2, 2008.
65. Declaration by Hindu Leaders on HIV and AIDS, signed on June 2, 2008.
66. Email by Prasada Rao, June 3, 2008.
67. Information from Ranjan Dwivedi, Technical Advisor, UNAIDS.
68. Kavi, ‘Religion’.
69. Ibid.
70. hukumnama literally means ‘letter of command’; used to denote Sikh religious edicts.
71. Akal Takth literally means ‘Seat of the Timeless One’; located at Amritsar, at is one of the five seats of temporal authority for Sikhs.
72. Cited in Rafique, AIDS Community Consolidated Reply.