Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil of India shocked his family and nation last March when he gave an interview to a local Gujarati newspaper outing himself as a homosexual. The Prince is the first openly gay Indian royal. Unfortunately, though, since coming out a year ago - he has been disowned from his family.
It is sad and just wrong, but homosexuality is illegal in India and can be punishable with up to ten years in jail. As a result, it is estimated that 80% of gay men in India are married to women.
Many argue that the widespread denial of homosexuality inhibits education of safe sex practices, resulting in a rise in HIV and AIDS.
Says the Prince, “I came out because I wanted to show to the world that even a prince can be gay. I wanted people to discuss homosexuality, which was always considered taboo and a stigma…it’s been existing in India but no one talked about it.”
*Applause for the Prince*
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