By Luis Mila

Prince Manvedra Singh Gohil is a gay prince in India.  He has broken multiple stereotypes, traditions, and customs in his lifetime, and just recently his parents shunned him from their home due to him coming out as a member of the LGBT+ community. Immediately after coming out as gay, he launched a charity in support of LGBT rights.

“Around the age of 12 or 13, when I was undergoing sexual maturity, I thought, I’m attracted to the same sex and not opposite. I knew there was something different about me, but I didn’t know why I was feeling different than others. There was a conflict in myself that was different, but at the time I didn’t realize I was gay,” recalls Gohil.

He has dedicated the past decade to assisting people of the LGBT+ community, and advocating their rights. He is no stranger to rejection, and recognizes the privilege he has being an elite in India, and wishes to spread goodwill to his companions.

Gohil explains India’s traditions and respect for a family tree. In a royal household, there is minimal communication between parents and their children, so he only felt comfortable by burying his feelings and marrying a woman. He believed this was the only way to be normal, the only way to be successful, the only way to have a happier life. The marriage, however, only resulted in Gohil having a mental breakdown in 2002. 

Gohil came out in 2006, and his mother published an ad publicizing his disownment. He counteracted by opening a four-bedroom palace to harbor LGBT+ peoples, and allies alike in a place where romantic relations between two individuals of the same sex is considered illegal.

The palace is named Hanumanteshwar 1927, in honor of the year Gohil’s great-grandfather constructed the venue. The center is managed by Gohil’s charity – Thre Lakshya Trust – and features a medical facility, English-language and vocational classes, and rooms for guests.  Gohil depends on crowdfunding in order to add further enhancements.

Gohil’s parents discussed shock therapy, and surgery to “fix” him when he brought up a cure for his homosexuality; being told nothing would help, he was quickly disowned.

Now a successful prince, and eminent ally of the LGBT+ community, Gohil plans to take his fight to a global scale, and be a voice for those who don’t have one. His motivation comes from the Sanskrit saying Vasudhaiva kutumbakam:

“The whole world is one family.”