Royal Prince of India calls for decriminalisation of homosexuality
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Indian gay activist, Prince of Rajpipla Manvendra Singh Gohil (SAM PANTHAKY/AFP/Getty Images)
A royal prince of India has called for the country to decriminalise homosexuality.
Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil made global headlines when he came out as gay in 2007 on the Oprah Winfrey Show.
He’s now campaigning for the country to end its historic anti-gay sex rules.
Speaking at the Nagpur pride march, Prince Gohil said the outdated rules in his country should be dropped.
“As the largest democracy, it is high time that India scrap the outdated laws imposed by the colonial government and give equal rights to the LGBT people.”
Gohil, the prince of Rajpipla, Gujarat, previously recorded a video with Come Out Loud calling for the change.
He says that growing up with means, and privilege, actually made it harder to come to terms with his sexual orientation.
Prince Gohil said: “When I was around 12 or 13, I realised I wasn’t attracted towards the opposite sex, I was attracted to the same sex.
“Why is this attraction happening? I wasn’t clear about it because I did not have communication with anyone,” Gohil explained.
“Being brought up with servants and not many friends… no internet… it was a very confusing state.”
The prince was disowned by his royal family, and had previously been married to a princess after coming out.
India’s Supreme Court in 2013 reinstated a ban on gay sex.
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Those convicted can now be jailed for up to 10 years, after the court undid a ruling from a lower court from 2009, which effectively decriminalised gay sex.
“We’re all human beings. We should be treated equally and be given the rights which we have been denied,” Gohil says in the video.
“All we expect from the society is love. Gay rights cannot just be won in the courtroom, but also in the hearts and minds of the people we live with.
Watch the video, via Come Out Loud, below:
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