It came as something of a shock to learn that till date the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and the Manipur AIDS Control Society (MACS) have not incorporated any policies to check the spread of HIV amongst the gay population of the State.

Let's face the truth, gays or homosexuals are a reality and they exist amongst us, some openly and some in the closet.

During the last few years, we have seen gays raising their voice all over the world and demanding a place for themselves under the Sun and while the Indian Penal Code still refuses to move and continue to stick to its outdated notion of what is natural sex and what is not, the fact remains that the gay population has started to become more and more open and in Mumbai there is even an organisation for gays to share their thoughts and ideas.

Even in the liberal West the question of gay marriage has stirred a hornet's nest and it is still one of the simmering issues in the United States along with abortion.

It is not so much about the rights of gays and their movement that we are concerned with at the moment but about the spread of HIV amongst the gays in Manipur. NGOs working in the field of HIV/AIDS have come out with an apt term to define gays as Men Having Sex with Men or MSMs in short.

The first step that needs to be done to check the spread of HIV/AIDS amongst the gay community is the need for them to come out in the open.

In the absence of data and statistics it would be extremely difficult to frame a policy for gays and as long as the fear of social stigma and ostracism is there, a certain degree of anonymity should also be ensured for the gay community.

As experts have mooted at the inaugural function of the three day sensitisation programme on MSMs in relation to HIV/AIDS, HIV infection amongst the MSMs is spreading fast and this is a major concern.

The time calls for a brutal admission of the fact that there are indeed homosexuals amongst us and simply opting to ignore the issue will not help. The beginning then is to accept that there are gays amongst us as well as to accept the fact that HIV is spreading fast amongst them.

As prevention is the only option at the moment, spreading awareness amongst the MSMs and holding sensitisation programmes are some of the steps that can be taken up now.

For the gay individual to come out of the closet and declare his sexual preference, society has to be ready to accept the ground reality and stop living in a make belief world, where everything is hunky dory. Anyone can be born gay and anyone can contract HIV.

This is the reality and NACO and MACS should have started charting out policies and programmes for the gay community a long time back.

It is still not too late and a beginning has be to made from the sketchy information that is available with the NGOs working in this field.

Gay prostitution is also another aspect that should be covered while addressing this issue.