Hand in hand, Prateek (name changed), 26, and his wife Sarla (name changed), 24, ascend the stairs of a Drug De-addiction Centre in western Jammu. He appears lean, weak, pale and withdrawn, while she looks strong, healthy and optimistic.
Three years ago, Prateek was diagnosed as HIV positive. He contracted it due to shared needles. Today, while he battles both the disease and the taboo associated with it, he has many regrets.
Addiction as Gateway to Hell
Hailing from a lower-middle-class family, Prateek blames cigarette smoking as the gateway to the chain of addictions that led to his present condition.
Recalling his early years, he says, “In 2017, at the age of 17, I started smoking cigarettes. In 2018, I began taking intoxicating medicines, drugs and alcohol and continued this for two years. In 2020, I became addicted to heroin, commonly known as ‘chitta’ in Jammu. That was the turning point of my life.”
A friend initially offered him drugs for free. But the addiction soon began to cost him heavily. A mobile mechanic by profession, he used to earn 800 to 1,000 Rupees a day.
“Whatever I earned during the early years of my addiction, I spent entirely on drugs,” he says. Over time, he lost lakhs of Rupees.
Prateek recalls that his parents began noticing changes in him around mid-2021. “Parents often sense when something is wrong with their child. My father asked me about my behaviour, and I finally told him that I had been trapped in this addiction.”
His family took him to a Drug De-addiction Centre in southern Jammu, where he stayed for a few months. Later, he was sent to Bengaluru, where he remained until April-2023 and also worked during that period. However, after returning home, he came into contact with the same group and suffered a relapse of addiction.
Unaware of his condition, his parents asked him to get married. He readily agreed, as he was already in a relationship with Sarla.
“In September 2023, on the third day after our marriage, I came to know that I had contracted a disease — HIV,” he says. According to him, the infection occurred due to the use of shared syringes during his period of drug use.
The news came as a shock to Sarla. “It was devastating,” she says. When asked whether she was aware of Prateek’s addiction, she replied, “Yes, we were in a relationship, and I played a crucial role in sending him to Bengaluru for treatment. But the consequences of the addiction were far greater than we had thought.”
Taboo More Painful Than Disease
For Sarla, however, the emotional burden goes beyond the diagnosis. She says the stigma associated with HIV is often more painful than the disease itself.
“That’s the most hurtful part. Whenever I accompany my husband to a hospital for treatment unrelated to HIV, we are treated as if we are untouchables. We have studied and researched the disease ourselves — it is nowhere mentioned that HIV spreads through touch,” she says.
She adds with sadness, “…but, even the doctors often look down upon us.”
Recalling one such incident, Sarla says, “Once, a doctor scolded us when he came to know about his (Prateek’s) medical history. He said, ‘Why didn’t you tell me earlier that you are HIV positive?’ After that, he hurriedly put on gloves and repeatedly washed his hands.”
Suresh (name changed), 30, another HIV-positive patient, echoed similar concerns about discrimination by doctors.
“We do not have many complaints against ordinary people. Human beings can be harsh at times, but that may be due to a lack of awareness. At least doctors should not treat us this way. However, what can one expect? During the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw even more discrimination. HIV is still treated as a taboo disease,” he said.
Staggering Cases
Like Prateek and Suresh, there are thousands of HIV positive patients in Jammu and Kashmir. According to officials at Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) centres, around 6,800 people are registered for treatment in the region, and the number is increasing.
As of December 2025, there are 7204 HIV patients in J&K. Most patients fall within the economically productive age group of 15 to 49 years and largely belong to lower and lower-middle-class backgrounds.
Health experts say that people living with HIV can lead a normal life if they adhere regularly to antiretroviral medication. However, irregular treatment can significantly reduce life expectancy.
Unable to provide exact data on the HIV patients, the Deputy Director Jammu and Kashmir AIDS Control Society (JKACS) said that the website is currently in maintenance mode. He said that the numbers fluctuate because some patients do not undergo testing regularly. As a result, the figures may increase in some years and decrease in others.
An official in the drug de-addiction centre noted that, due to improved prevention and awareness strategies, the rate of transmission in Jammu and Kashmir has declined in recent years.
In response to an RTI application, the JKACS in November 2025 maintained that Jammu and Kashmir recorded 2,071 new HIV cases and 66 deaths between 2019 and June 2025.
The supporting data does not offer a pattern of consistent decline in fresh cases, but an erratic fluctuation. As per the data, new HIV cases stood at 361 in 2019–20, 206 in 2020–21, 272 in 2021–22, 374 in 2022–23, 338 in 2023–24, 403 in 2024–25, and 117 fresh cases between April and June 2025.
Most patients are registered at dedicated HIV centres, but those still under therapy for addiction are currently admitted to the De-addiction Dentre for treatment. 32 patients are currently registered at a De-addiction Centre in western Jammu. Officials said, a total of 40 were registered, eight of whom subsequently died.
Out of the 32 existing patients, 28 are men and 4 are women. All of them contracted HIV through the sharing of syringes and had a history of drug use.
Besides treatment to overcome drug dependence, they are undergoing Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) to reduce their viral load.
When the administrators of the centre were asked whether these patients had been abandoned by their parents, they said that all those admitted had been enrolled with the consent and willingness of their families.
They further stated that the HIV status of patients is protected under the HIV Act, 2017. Therefore, they are legally bound to maintain confidentiality. The identities of patients, as well as the locations of the centres, are kept undisclosed in this story.
Kashmir Times spoke with Nisar Ahmad, Deputy Director (Prevention), J&K AIDS Control Society, who acknowledged that discrimination against such patients has not completely disappeared.
“Discrimination has not been eliminated 100 percent. There may still be some cases. If any patient faces discrimination from a doctor, he or she should file a complaint with our office. If the doctor is found guilty, the provisions of the HIV/AIDS (Prevention and Control) Act, 2017 can impose a penalty of up to Rs 2 lakh,” he said.
He added that the department regularly conducts awareness programmes for doctors at the government level and plans to extend these initiatives to private clinics and practitioners in the coming months.
“We want to make it clear that HIV/AIDS is not transmitted through touch, sitting with patients, talking to them, sharing meals, or even wearing their clothes,” he said.
He further stated that the AIDS Control Society is working towards the 95-95-95 target. “Our goal is to reach HIV-positive patients and provide them free treatment, CD4 testing, and other essential services, for this, we have three ART centres— Kathua, Jammu, and Srinagar.” he added.
Dr Vinay Kumar, Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work at the University of Jammu, told Kashmir Times that HIV carries a stigma today similar to what tuberculosis patients faced in the past.
“In earlier times, tuberculosis patients were treated poorly due to social stigma. A similar situation exists for people living with HIV in the contemporary era,” he said.
He added that drug addiction is one of the major factors contributing to the spread of HIV. “Around 12 percent of youth are involved in drug abuse. There are multiple reasons behind this, with unemployment being one of the major factors,” he noted.
“These individuals are also victims of social stigma. Addiction is a condition. No one is born an addict. It is often circumstances, environment or peer influence that pushes a person into substance abuse. Society needs to treat them with compassion. Due to stigma and fear of social judgment, many addicts hesitate to approach Drug De-addiction Centres,” he said.
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