Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil, India’s only gay prince, the probable heir of the Maharaja of Rajpipla in Gujarat, has opened up his 15-acre palace grounds to LGBT community members. Named Hanumanteshwar, the four-bedroom palace was built by his ancestor. He is said to be constructing more buildings for the same. The development comes amid Supreme Court’s decision to review the controversial Section 377 that criminalises gay sexual relations in the country. The first openly gay prince in the world also runs The Lakshya Trust, which works with the LGBT community. Prince Manvendra is also a consultant at AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
LGBT Case: Supreme Court Agrees to Review Constitutional Validity of Section 377
After the royal came out in 2006, he was ostracised by his family, following which he started Lakshya to support gay men and educate people about the prevention of HIV. Lakshya, a community-based organisation is registered as a public charitable trust. It has been working in the fields of sexual health programme, gender equality and to empower their community members to live in the mainstream society. They also address social, economic, psychological spiritual and other aspects of health.
Talking about the issues he faced, the International Business Times quoted him as saying, “If I could undergo these problems then any other gay person could face a similar situation. In India, we have a family system and we are mentally conditioned to be with our parents. The moment you try to come out you are told you’ll be thrown out and society will boycott you. You become a social outcast. A lot of people are financially dependent on their parents.”
While the Section 377 of the India’s penal code terms gay sex “against the order of nature”, the apex court said that it will look into its 2013 order which criminalised gay sexual relations and will review the section. The court also issued a notice to the Centre seekings its response to a writ petition filed by five members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community, who said they live in the fear of police because of their sexual orientations and natural preferences. In 1991, he married Chandrika Kumari, princess of Jhabua state in Madhya Pradesh as per traditional customs which resulted in a divorce the next year.