Raja Mahendra Singh

Mr Manvendra Singh Gohil: India’s Gay Prince And Gay Activist

Manvendra Singh Gohil is the only known person of royal lineage in modern India to have publicly revealed that he is homosexual. But there is much more to the gay prince of India. Founder of Lakshya Trust, his contribution towards HIV/AIDS prevention among men who have sex with men (MSMs), and towards gay activism in India is praiseworthy.

In a candid interview with the gay prince, Manvendra reveals how the homosexual men are received in India and his own journey of ‘coming out’ He hails from a well-respected royal family in Gujarat and was disowned by his family after the disclosure. Nevertheless, he does not blame his parents; he however blames their ignorance and the education system.

He feels that educational institutions need to be sensitized as they are the future of India. When done in an organized manner, Manvendra is confident that the society’s attitude towards the homosexual men would change. He feels that his disclosure shattered one of the biggest myths that upper class people cannot be gay.

LAKSHYA TRUST

In a bid to work for the health and safety of positive people who are gay, Manvendra founded an organization called Lakshya Trust. Their main focus was HIV awareness. The motivation to start this arose from his role model Mr Ashok Row Kavi who introduced him to the gay world and started Humsafar Trust in India, a male sexual health NGO. It is he who inspired Lakshya, Gujarat’s first organisation by gay men for gay men.

Lakshya was started by a group of four friends to create a platform for the community to come together and discuss common issues and their solutions, whether it was police harassment, discrimination or marriage pressure. After working in this field for quite some time, they were approached by the government to work for HIV/AIDS prevention as a partner to work for gays.

The unique aspect of Lakshya is their involvement with senior gay men. Manvendra felt that old gay men who were unmarried or disowned and required support systems and help with health and medical issues. After working in this field for several years, they are now in the process of developing India’s first old age home for gays. Lakshya has a staff of 150 people – most of them are gay and are reaching out to the female partners of the gay community.

His final words to the community are

“You are gay. Be happy and proud of it – There is nothing wrong with it. It’s normal to be gay. Once people accept the reality, it would make things better for them and for their loved ones too”

We applaud Manvendra Singh for his commendable efforts towards the betterment of homosexual community.