India's First Openly Gay Prce Turned His Palace Into a Safe Haven for the LGBTQ+ Communy

Contents:

• INDIA'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PRCE ENDURED YEARS OF TORTURO NVERSN THERAPY. NOW, HE'S FIGHTG TO MAKE THE PRACTICE ILLEGAL.
• PRI AND PREJUDICE: INDIAN ROYAL MANVENDRA SGH GOHIL ON BEG THE WORLD’S FIRST OPENLY GAY PRCE
• YOUNG, ROYAL & GAY: THE LIFE OF AN INDIAN PRCE
• INDIA'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PRCE IS WORKG TO MAKE CONVERSN THERAPY ILLEGAL

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. 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.

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

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. Many around him believed that homosexualy was a mental disorr.

Much of his advocy for LGBTQ+ rights ntu to primarily revolve around cimatg the stigma around homosexualy.

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

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

Speakg exclively to Tatler om Rajvant Palace, his fay’s grand rince Gujarat, wtern India, the 55-year-old prce rells how havg a breakdown the early 2000s set him on a path that led to his beg crowned one of the untry’s leadg LGBTQ+ rights activists and hailed by many as the only openly gay prce the 2002, Prce Manvendra was certa he was gay, havg been attracted to men for years. ‘My mother and father mand I have surgery or shock therapy to be cured, ’ he prce was hled off to a seri of doctors and spirual guis, all of whom told his parents no uncerta terms that their son’s homosexualy was neher a disorr nor a mental illns that uld be expunged. ’Unterred, however, the Maharana and Maharani of Raipla tried to keep their son’s homosexualy unr wraps – was then illegal India – but 2006, the prce me out to a newspaper.

So they sent him off to the doctor, as they would years later when he told them he was gay.

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

When Prce Manvendra was married, homosexualy was a crimal offence. ‘In India, homo-social behavur is very accepted, ’ he says.

‘On the one hand, they tell you beg gay is wrong.

Not bee I was gay – they said was bee I spoke the tth. Many don’t agree wh the Supreme Court’s cisn, ’ he says, referrg to the 2018 legalisatn of homosexualy. Homophobia and hypocrisy mt be cimated.