Imphal: He restrained himself at his home, unable to see daylight for almost three years. But today, fighting what appeared to be insurmountable odds, K. Pradipkumar Singh overcame the social stigma and discrimination to “show the world what an HIV positive person can do in life”.
Lured into the world of drugs and intoxication during his youth, like many others of his age in Manipur, Pradipkumar came to know in 2000 that he was infected with the virus.
Born in a village 3km away from Imphal, the state capital, he was not the only one facing this fate as HIV and Aids had emerged as a serious public health challenge in the state which at one time accounted for nearly eight per cent of India’s HIV positive cases despite having only 0.2 per cent of the country’s population, according to Manipur State Aids Control Society.
Often called a slow poison, once diagnosed with it, an afflicted person could be condemned to a debilitating and tortured death, devoid even of the clinical and social support that other sick people have. But instead of just accepting his fate, he gathered courage, challenged prevailing social norms and turned his weakness into the “positive” life that he is leading now.
With sheer determination, he started a career in bodybuilding and went on to win Mr Manipur, Mr India and Mr South Asia titles — apart from winning a bronze medal in the Mr World contest.
Living with HIV for close to two decades, Pradipkumar, now 46, actively campaigns for awareness of HIV/Aids. While he does not participate in professional competitions any more, he works as a physical trainer at the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs of the Manipur government and plans to open an academy for bodybuilding.
“I became physically very weak. It was more of a psychological attack on me. The worst was seeing my closest friends drifting away from me. People would ridicule and mock me, passers-by would address me as ‘that HIV man’,” he recalled.
Not just society, even the hospital staff and doctors mistreated him. “They made me feel like untouchable. At Manipur State Government Hospital, I was allotted a corner bed with no mattress or bed sheet. No physician or paramedic would visit me throughout the day,” he recalled.
“Naco never recognised me; I got no help from them. HIV treatment is extremely costly. Who will remember someone who comes from a tiny state like Manipur? Had I been living in a metropolitan city, people would have surely remembered me,” he said.
While India had 2.1 million people living with HIV at the end of 2016, the third-highest in the world after South Africa and Nigeria, new HIV infections have fallen from 150,000 in 2005 to 80,000 in 2016, data from the UNAIDS Ending Aids Report 2017 shows.
As per the latest India HIV Estimation 2015 report, Manipur has the highest estimated adult (15-49 years) HIV prevalence of 1.15 per cent as against the national figure of 0.26 per cent.
