Gay prince Manvendra Singh Gohil opens the lid on the varied sexual leanings of India's royal families
Gay prince Manvendra Singh Gohil opens the lid on the varied sexual leanings of India's royal families
Yuvraj Manvendra Singh Gohil (44) the prince of Rajpipla, who sent blue blood churning in shock and disbelief when he came out and declared he was gay in 2006, went back to his district of Rajpipla in Gujarat yesterday to mark the last day of Navratri today (Sunday).
Manvendra was in Mumbai for the past week. "To study harmonium with India's best known harmonium teacher, Pandit Purshottam Walavalkar," he says.
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Manvendra with portraits of his family at his Malad home Pic/ Pradeep Dhivar |
'I knew I had done no wrong'
Ironically, the same people, who once burnt his effigies and declared him dead in 2006, after he came out publicly as a homosexual, eagerly awaited Manvendra's return. When thousands acknowledge the prince at the closing ceremony to be performed by his father, Maharaja Raghubir Singh Gohil and him at the family deity temple in Rajpipla today, an occasion marked by pomp and pageantry with tradition at its core, it would validate Manvendra's belief that, "I knew I had done no wrong by admitting I am gay."
'Royalty was afraid I would out them...'
Manvendra says, "Three years ago, my effigies were burnt in Rajpipla, by people who had been instigated by other royal families. Royalty was afraid I would 'out' the gay and lesbian persons in their family. There are several royal families in India and abroad with homosexual members. I started getting correspondence within six months of coming out from homosexual members of other royal families, not just in India but overseas too, saying they would not have the guts to do what I did. In some of those messages, young people have written, 'We are out to the ruling king and queen but not to anybody else'."
'Accept yourself; then come out to your people'
As the first openly gay royal, Manvendra says, "I put my belief in the dictum: satyameva jayate: eventually truth will prevail. I put everything at stake while coming out name, fame, wealth, even my life. I was aware I might have been killed by somebody, who would have thought I have brought dishonour to the royal name."
Manvendra says not everybody, king or commoner wants to put himself at such great risk. Yet, cautions Manvendra, "Homosexuals must first accept themselves and then expect the public to accept them. He adds, "Do not be in denial about your sexuality or suffer guilt pangs. You need to tackle that first, and then come out to your people."
'Yoga helped me reach out to my people'
Manvendra continues, "Even after my coming out, while my effigies were being burnt, I never stopped appearing at public functions, and I even continued teaching yoga in Rajpipla, I have been a yoga teacher since 1995." Yoga, according to the prince, "Was one way in which I got in touch with ordinary people. You know the acceptance is accelerated when people see you doing so much for them."u00a0 Manvendra adds, "Even before I came out, my Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) called Lakshya, which incidentally, has its head office in the Rajvans Palace where I live, was working for HIV prevention. People respect and love you for the work you have done for them. Eventually, they will realise this person cares about them, and sexual orientation will not be a barrier to this love." So complete has been the acceptance that the prince took his boyfriend to Rajpipla during a music concert he held there recently. "I would have liked to take him back for Navratri too, but he is unwell."u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0
'If Aishwarya's show with Oprah could be shown here, why not mine?'
Manvendra says signing off, "I am fiercely Indian at heart. I wear Indian attire. I celebrate my birthday according to the Indian calendar, but there is still a lot of hypocrisy here. My show with Oprah Winfrey, telecast live in 2007 abroad, has not been shown here.u00a0 I was told it was due to technical reasons, but I am sure it was political. I had said on the show that I am proud to be Indian, but we have a hypocritical society here. If Aishwarya Rai's show with Oprah could be shown here, why not mine? Just because she is married to Abhishek Bachchan and I am gay?u00a0 I met Smita Thackeray a year ago, in fact, and asked if she could use her clout to see that the show would be telecast. I even followed it up with Oprah's office but to no avail. Like in life, so in the show too, I am very honest and I guess that pinches people."
2006 The year Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil came out of the closet
2007 The year his show with Oprah winfrey was telecast abroad, but not in India
Royal stats1. Most recognised royalsVasundhara Raje, Captain Amarinder Singh, late Gayatri Devi, Raghavendra Rathore, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Shivraj Singh
2. Famous royal families
The Scindia royal family, the Tripura royal family, the royal family of Gwalior and the royal family of Kochi
3. Rajpipla's best palaceIndrajeet Padmini Mahal. Said to have cost Rs 40 lakh, and reportedly financed by Maharajah Vijay Sinhji's winnings at the Epsom Derby
4. Most visited hotels
The Taj Lake Palace in Udaipur, the Umaid Bhavan Palace in Jodhpur, Devi Garh palace in Udaipur, the Taj Hari Mahal in Jodhpur
5. Blue bloodsThere are more than 30 royal families in the world today, while some countries like France and Russia have abolished royals altogether
