Homophobia In Transition But More Needs To Be Done' Says Gay Gujarat Royal

HYDERABAD: Back in 2006, when Manvendra Singh Gohil, the crown prince of Rajpipla in Gujarat, came out as a gay person, he received death threats, was the subject of protests and his effigies were burnt. But, 17 years later, he says that the country has come a long way indicating ‘homophobia in transition’, a phrase he coined last year.

Gohil said, “When I came out, even the LGBTQ+ community was scared and worried that they would be outed. They were angry about me creating a stir. But, today, people have slowly moved from hate to curiosity and acceptance. I remember an assassin, who was tasked a decade ago to ‘finish me off’, meeting with me and asking for my forgiveness… he later shared he was now speaking for many like me and raising awareness on his own.”

He said that self-love is the biggest antidote to hate against the community. “Every morning, when I read all hate messages, I respond by sending them hearts and telling them I love them, they need it.”

The royal, who has also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Keeping Up With The Kardashians and the documentary Pieces of Us, says that India still has a long way to go.

“There has been great progress in terms of laws and transgender rights, decriminalising homosexuality, but many times, it just remains in the books; it needs to be duly implemented in court and in people's hearts and minds. Today, more than 800 transgenders in Gujarat still don't have an Aadhaar card or bank account. The education system too is to be blamed. Without sensitising the society at large, we can only achieve so much,” he said.

He said that during Pride month two years ago, Justice Anand Venkatesh of the Madras High Court had said it was high time schools talked about including the community’s issues in textbooks.

“Our country is the land that introduced the world to Kamasutra, but on the other extreme, consider something as basic as sex, a taboo. Sex education, gender orientation, sex abuse, etc., need to be taught with great care at the right age,” he said.

He said that the community also needs more allies. “People who are not from the community need to come forward to support us and that can begin by educating themselves, not just off the internet but by listening to real-life stories which leave a lasting impact and evoke empathy,” Gohil said.

Gohil said that many brands capitalise on preaching acceptance when it suits them. “I know brands that turn rainbow in June, but internally display so much hatred and discrimination …It's not that difficult to practice what they preach,” he said.

Blaming pop-culture portrayals of the community members, he said: “Characters playing us have stereotypical styles, accents and colours. We need to be represented but we don't want to be exclusive or loud. We just want to be normalised and be mainstream, that's the fight — you don't see us asking for extra rights or reservations either.”