Hasewad, Latur: Another tragic story of how ignorance and stigma continues to haunt HIV positive patients in the country. In a village in Latur in Maharashtra villagers have refused to allow their children to study with nine HIV + children - seven boys and two girls.
The school has refused to ban the kids and is now trying its best to convince parents to send their children back to school. So far, they have failed.
The children, from an orphanage for HIV positive children in Latur, joined the school just a month ago. When parents of other children found out, they asked the school to refuse them entry.
The school did not buckle, instead tried to convince the villagers that HIV was not communicable.
The result: over half the school's strength has stopped coming.
"Our school strength of 230 children of which parents of 148 are no longer sending them to school," said Dharamraj Bhise, Head Master.
But there's hope for these children as their classmates turned into pillars of support.
"We know they have AIDS but we have no problems playing with them, sitting with them. We know we won't get AIDS because of it," said Shubham Survayanshi, student.
Many fellow school students have an understanding of the disease that continues to elude many village elders.
The state government says if villagers do not back down, developmental aid to the village will be stopped.