The government of Maharashtra, which is India’s third largest state, banned the introduction of sex education in schools in hope of silencing protestors who fear that its implementation will corrupt their youth.

According to BBC News, this step is seen as an impediment to the central government as it tries to make sex education a country-wide phenomena.With an estimated five million Indians who are HIV positive, India has the highest number of AIDS patients in the world. As this statistic is rapidly increasing, a counter push for the implementation of sex education is also intensifying.

BBC News reported that generally, parents in India hesitate to talk about sex to their children. Schools are only permitted to teach basic facts that are generally limited to reproductive and biological changes in males and females.

“To begin with, India is a very culturally conservative country and a lot of things like sex, especially premarital sex, AIDS, prostitution, and homosexuality are cultural taboos,” said senior Indian native Rohit Gandhi. “So the culture in India makes talking about sex much harder.”

N. N. Nayar, the principal of APJ school near the city of Mumbai, said to BBC News that the school was ordered to educate children about “social evils,” such as premarital sex, homosexuality and promiscuity.

“Our endeavor is to make children aware of these evils such as drug addiction, alcoholism and other dangerous things,” said Nayar to BBC News. “I am of the opinion that sex education by itself is not important, what is important is a holistic approach to the issue of social evils.”

He went on to say that most children are already aware of these issues through television and the Internet.

“It doesn’t matter whether we tell our girl child to be careful and not mingle with strangers,” said Nayar. “She already knows she should not do it.”

Gandhi said that the main problem is that the parents don’t want their kids to be exposed to sex because they think it would cause them to be more interested in experimentation.

“Parents do not accept sex education because they never had it when growing up,” said Gandhi. “It can only start being accepted in schools when the parents themselves are educated. This issue needs more advertisement and positive publicity so they can learn about the positive effects it can cause.”

BBC News reports that Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu association, blames “a Western mindset behind the move.”

“We run about 26,000 schools across the country. Our teachers have studied the curriculum and they find it obscene and objectionable,” said RSS spokesman Ram Madhav. “The whole curriculum is designed to suit the lifestyle in Western countries, where there is a general free atmosphere. In our country we live with families.”

Even though many think that sex education will corrupt Indian youth, others, specifically those who are appalled at the increased AIDS infection, believe that sex education could help with prevention attempts.

“Sex education is definitely one of the most critical aspects of reducing the spread of AIDS,” said senior David Norton, who is one of this years’ project coordinators for the AIDS Fellowship.

“Research shows that comprehensive sex education programs do not result in increased sexual activity, and if anything it reduces harmful activities,” said Kathy Tritschler, professor of sports studies, who also teaches sex education.

Norton agrees and said that “Countries that have switched from abstinence education to comprehensive sex education policies have a decrease of HIV positive cases.”

“India is a country of about two billion people and there needs to be sex education in order to prevent over population and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases,” said Gandhi.

Norton said that not only does sex education play a large role in the prevention of HIV, but it is also crucial to the treatment of the disease.

“It is always very important when someone gets diagnosed with HIV for them to be educated about the disease,” said Norton. “Further education can provide them with ways in which they can stop the spread of the disease and ways in which they can treat themselves.”

The RSS has a completely opposing view on the issue.

“Giving sex education on the pretext that India has a large number of AIDS patients is illogical,” said Madhav.

Instead, he favors the sheltering of children by organizing workshops for AIDS awareness strictly for adults, so they can realize the consequences of leading a “promiscuous” life.

Even though many are lobbying for sex education in the hope to decrease cases of AIDS, there are a multitude of additional benefits to keep in mind.

“Overall, sex education can improve your relationships with other people,” said Tritschler. “Once you understand that sexuality is part of who you are a human being then you can understand what you want to do with that sexual drive and what is meaningful for you. Through education you will be able to determine whether it is worth the risks.