Risk Culture, Propertied Classes, and Dynamics of a Region: A Study of HIV/AIDS in East Godavari District (Andhra Pradesh)

This paper attempts to understand the politics of defining the boundary between risk and non-risk groups in the discourse on HIV/AIDS. Sketching the intricacies in demarcating these groups, through historical accounts and ethnographic research, it explains how various actions of the propertied classes have played an active role in perpetuating the 'risk culture' and institutionalising an 'entertainment culture'. It traces the links among agrarian surplus, entrepreneurship, popular culture industry, religious tradition, caste alliances, and political system that have contributed to the shifting identities of the sex workers and risk culture.