In India, a Gay Prince’s Coming Out Earns Accolades, and Enemies

THE NEW YORK TIMES 
By Shalini Venugopal-Bhagat
Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil outside his home in Gujarat, India, this month.Credit...Atul Loke for The New York Times
In India, a Gay Prince's Coming Out Earns Accolades, and Enemies
NEW DELHI — Born into a royal family that once ruled the kingdom of Rajpipla in India, he was raised in the family’s palaces and mansions and was being groomed to take over a dynasty that goes back 600 years. But then he gave an interview that prompted his mother to disown him and set off protests in his hometown, where he was burned in effigy. Since coming out as gay in that 2006 interview, Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil has faced a torrent of bullying and threats, and was disinherited by his family for a period. But he has also earned global accolades for his L.G.B.T.Q. advocacy, becoming one of the few gay-rights activists in the world with such royal ties. [More