Although south Asian culture is rich in its celebration of human sexuality, dogma and imperialism have brought about repression. John Howe explains how those working in HIV/AIDS prevention must have an understanding of the complexity of the culture to get the message across properly

The celebration of human sexuality has a long and honourable history in Indian culture. It is a tradition rooted in early south Asian religions and predates Christianity by many millennia (1). Hindu temples are decorated with erotic carvings and images, which often show multiple and same-sex couplings. Indeed, it is claimed that the founder of the Mogul empire, Babur, took male partners, as did Ranjit Singh, an early religious leader (2).