Gay Indian prince: ‘Yoga didn’t turn me straight’

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A gay Indian prince has criticised claims that yoga can ‘cure’ homosexuality.

Following a recent Delhi High Court ruling to decrimalise gay sex, popular yoga guru Swami Baba Ramdev filed a challenge saying homosexuality was a “disease” and could be cured by yoga.

However, Manvendra Singh Gohil, prince of the state of Rajpipla, who was disowned by his family for being gay, has rubbished the claims.

Gohil told Indian newspaper DNA: “They should stop making such baseless claims. Such absurd claims do a disservice to society… I have been doing yoga for the last 10 years, but I haven’t turned straight. The only thing yoga has given me is that it has made me healthier and more confident.”

He added: “You do not become an expert on everything just because you are good at one thing. Morality should be guided by reality. It should not be the other way round. I respect everyone’s right to have his own view on things, but I believe we would be a healthier society if we depended more on reason to understand things than on received wisdom.”

The 43-year-old prince was denounced in 2006 after publicly announcing his sexuality. Consequently, all his rights as the son and heir to the Rajpipla fortune have been revoked.

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