Blogger News Network

July 9, 2006

40-year-old Manvendrasinh Singh Gohil, son of the (erstwhile) Maharajah of Rajpipla (India), was disowned by his family for coming out as a gay man. Homosexuality has been outlawed in India for 145 years, when the country was under British colonial rule. Those convicted of the crime of being homosexual face up to 10 years in prison.

The Gohil family once ruled India's Rajpipla principality. Although India abolished royalty when it gained independence from Britain in 1947, the Gohil clan are considered to be one of the wealthiest families in the south Asian nation.

Gohil's mother put public notices in Gujarati language newspapers disavowing being his mother. "If any individual or organisation dares to (name me as his mother), it will invite contempt proceedings," the statement said.

He said as an AIDS activist, he felt it was his duty to come out. Gohil claimed that India anti-gay laws hinder AIDS prevention among gay men since many are afraid to admit they are homosexual for fear of being jailed or blackmailed.

Gohil, who runs a non-profit AIDS foundation, told reporters he wasn't interested in his family's money. "I will not stake my claim to the property. I have found a family in the (gay) community and am happy working for the community," he said in a Reuters interview.

UNAIDS estimated that 5.7 million Indians have been infected by the HIV virus. Gay organisations in India are currently trying to have the section of the Indian Penal Code, which makes homosexuality a punishable offence, nullified. Gay-relationships are considered taboo in India's mostly conservative society.

Sources

• Krittivas Mukherjee, Indian gay prince out of closet, loses inheritance, Reuters, July 7, 2005.
• Peter Foster, Gay prince is cut off from fortune 'for dishonouring his family', Telegraph, June 28, 2006.
• Maharajah disinherits gay son, Big News Network, July 7, 2006.