Gay Indian prce throws open palace doors to vulnerable LGBT people | Rters

Contents:

• INDIA'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PRCE ENDURED YEARS OF TORTURO NVERSN THERAPY. NOW, HE'S FIGHTG TO MAKE THE PRACTICE ILLEGAL.
• IN INDIA, A GAY PRCE’S COMG OUT EARNS ACLAS, AND ENEMI
• WORLD'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PRCE OPENS HIS PALACE DOORS TO INDIAN LGBT COMMUNY
• INDIA'S GAY PRCE ON FOREONT OF UNTRY'S LGBTQ MOVEMENT
• THE GAY PRCE OF RAIPLA AND HOMOSEXUALY INDIA
• GAY INDIAN PRCE THROWS OPEN PALACE DOORS TO VULNERABLE LGBT PEOPLE
• PRI AND PREJUDICE: INDIAN ROYAL MANVENDRA SGH GOHIL ON BEG THE WORLD’S FIRST OPENLY GAY PRCE
• FIRST OPENLY GAY PRCE SPEAKS OUT ON MISSN TO END CONVERSN THERAPY: 'I HAVE TO KEEP FIGHTG'
• INDIA'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PRCE IS WORKG TO MAKE CONVERSN THERAPY ILLEGAL
• YOUNG, ROYAL & GAY: THE LIFE OF AN INDIAN PRCE
• INDIA’S FIRST OPENLY GAY PRCE TRANSFORMS HIS PALACE INTO COMMUNY CENTRE FOR THE LGBTQ+
• INDIA'S ONLY OPENLY GAY PRCE DISCS G OUT AND TURNG HIS PK PALACE TO A CENTRE FOR AT-RISK LGBT+ PEOPLE

INDIA'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PRCE ENDURED YEARS OF TORTURO NVERSN THERAPY. NOW, HE'S FIGHTG TO MAKE THE PRACTICE ILLEGAL.

In 2006, Prce Manvendra Sgh Gohil me out to a lol newspaper, beg India's first openly gay prce.

IN INDIA, A GAY PRCE’S COMG OUT EARNS ACLAS, AND ENEMI

Prce Manvendra Sgh Gohil, the 39th direct scendant of India's Gohil Raut dynasty, knew he was gay at age 12. But he uld only live his tth three s publicly me out an terview to a lol newspaper 2006, beg the first openly gay royal the untry. He was 41 at the 2018, homosexualy was illegal India, punishable unr Sectn 377, a lonial-era dranian law that mand up to life imprisonment for anyone mtg sexual acts "agast the orr of nature.

WORLD'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PRCE OPENS HIS PALACE DOORS TO INDIAN LGBT COMMUNY

He turned the palace grounds he was once thrown out of to a shelter for the LGBTQ+ had expected the homophobic uproar.

The society he grew up around was strongly nserative, and the untry he grew up didn't legally regnize gay rights.

Much of his advocy for LGBTQ+ rights ntu to primarily revolve around cimatg the stigma around homosexualy. In 2018, the year that the Supreme Court crimalized homosexualy a landmark lg, Gohil opened up a 15-acre palace grounds to build a shelter for vulnerable members of the muny.

INDIA'S GAY PRCE ON FOREONT OF UNTRY'S LGBTQ MOVEMENT

"They thought was impossible that I uld be gay bee my cultural upbrgg had been so rich.

1, 2020NEW DELHI — Born to a royal fay that once led the kgdom of Raipla India, he was raised the fay’s palac and mansns and was beg groomed to take over a dynasty that go back 600 then he gave an terview that prompted his mother to disown him and set off protts his hometown, where he was burned g out as gay that 2006 terview, Prce Manvendra Sgh Gohil has faced a torrent of bullyg and threats, and was dishered by his fay for a he has also earned global aclas for his L.

THE GAY PRCE OF RAIPLA AND HOMOSEXUALY INDIA

Advocy, beg one of the few gay-rights activists the world wh such royal part of his efforts, Prce Manvendra, 55, has appeared on “The Oprah Wey Show” three tim, swapped life stori wh Kris Jenner on “Keepg Up Wh the Kardashians” and is workg to tablish a shelter for L.

Among gay Manvendra and his hband, Andre Richardson, have spent the last few months lockdown gettg the shelter ready. ShutterstockWhen the prce shared that he was gay that ont-page newspaper terview 14 years ago, created a storm of mostly negative publicy. Beg gay was a crimal offense India unr the archaic Brish law effect at the time.

GAY INDIAN PRCE THROWS OPEN PALACE DOORS TO VULNERABLE LGBT PEOPLE

”Beg gay was not a possibily that ever crossed his md, he said, bee he knew nothg about .

PRI AND PREJUDICE: INDIAN ROYAL MANVENDRA SGH GOHIL ON BEG THE WORLD’S FIRST OPENLY GAY PRCE

I cid to get touch wh him and ask him if I uld possibly be gay, ” he Kavi is a father of India’s gay-rights movement. In 1977, he me out publicly and went on to found Bombay Dost, India’s first gay magaze, 1990.

He found the Humsafar Tst, the first group to provi health servic and advocy for gay men, Kavi troduced Prce Manvendra to other people the muny and traed him as a unselor. He said the prce quietly fund the first telephone help le for gay people 2000, wh Mr. Kavi’s enuragement, the prce started the Lakshya Tst Gujarat to help the gay muny work was fulfillg, but as a closeted gay man, the prce said, beme creasgly difficult to do the advocy work need for Lakshya.

’”But every doctor his parents nsulted told them the same thg — homosexualy was not a disease or a mental disorr. ” Loke for The New York TimOver the past 14 years, the once-shy royal has grown acctomed to the spotlight and bee a vol activist for the gay rights movement.

FIRST OPENLY GAY PRCE SPEAKS OUT ON MISSN TO END CONVERSN THERAPY: 'I HAVE TO KEEP FIGHTG'

” Loke for The New York TimA versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn A, Page 9 of the New York edn wh the headle: In India, a Prce Be a Gay-Rights Champn.

He told a Gujarati daily newspaper about his sexualy 2006, makg him the first openly gay morn monarch the world — but then his fay quickly disowned him.

INDIA'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PRCE IS WORKG TO MAKE CONVERSN THERAPY ILLEGAL

Style was at the fore of the Prce’s life and he later published two books about fashn and terr sign: The Power Look 1978 and a follow-up, The Power Look at Home: Deratg for Men, Fürstenberg had a well-known fondns for gay nightlife.

Prce Manvendra Sgh Gohil — believed to be the world’s first openly gay royal — is dog his part to help India’s margalized LGBT muny. The Indian prce, 52, has opened his 15-acre palace grounds as a sanctuary for gay people unr prsure a natn where same-sex acts n rult 10-year prison sentenc.

(Pasl Le Segreta / AIDES & Lk / Getty Imag)Prce Manvendra Sgh Gohil, the first openly gay prce India, took to a makhift stage a swanky Indian rtrant New York last week.

YOUNG, ROYAL & GAY: THE LIFE OF AN INDIAN PRCE

The guts—mostly Indian, gay, or gay Indians—mgled nervoly at as the eveng began. Sce then, he has taken his story all over the world, even appearg on Oprah twice.But jt last week, as Gohil arrived New York to raise awarens, and discs how difficult and taboo homosexualy is India, two Amerins the public eye ed a stir when they me out.

Then, Don Lemon, the CNN anchor, told the world he was gay on Twter.The prce didn’t seem too surprised that homosexualy was still somewhat of an issue the Stat.

INDIA’S FIRST OPENLY GAY PRCE TRANSFORMS HIS PALACE INTO COMMUNY CENTRE FOR THE LGBTQ+

“Relign has played a role many issu, and also homosexualy, so even Ameri hasn’t been spared om that,” he said.

INDIA'S ONLY OPENLY GAY PRCE DISCS G OUT AND TURNG HIS PK PALACE TO A CENTRE FOR AT-RISK LGBT+ PEOPLE

Beg raised a society—and a fay—where homosexualy was not even an optn seems to have had s effect on him. “I’m not ed to the party culture bee I e om a royal fay.” He vised a gay bar while Ameri, but didn’t exactly blend .

No one the history of Raipla, a municipaly the wtern Indian state of Gujarat, would have predicted a member of their regn's royal fay would some day be ostracized for beg gay. Courty of Prce Manvendra Sgh GohilIt took Gohil, the first openly gay Indian royal, 40 years to e out. In ls than three months, they publicly disowned and dishered him for beg gay, a cisn they later whdrew for legal g out 2006, the road has not been easy for the prce, but spe the hurdl, he has emerged as one of the untry's most vol advot for LGBTQ someone who had grown up wh protols and rtrictns and led a closely guard life, g out to the world wasn’t an easy cisn, Gohil said.

“Whenever I wanted to do somethg of my choice, I’d thk about many tim over, and somethg wh me would always hold me back, ” he said this is partly why he kept his sexual inty hidn for years, even after he was certa he was gay. A portra photo of Prce Mavendra, the only openly gay prce PhippsBorn Rajasthan, a state the northwt part of India, Gohil spent his stunt life Mumbai.