Florida Agenda

By Nicholas Snow

Photo: Nicholas Snow with Manvendra Singh Gohil, February 2009

You may know him from his appearances on Oprah! After a privileged, yet isolated childhood and an arranged yet brief marriage which ended in an annulment, and ultimately finding and being nurtured by other gay men, a genuine prince has become one of the leading LGBT and HIV/AIDS activists in India, where in recent years their efforts resulted in the decriminalization of homosexuality at the national level. His Royal Highness Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil (“Manav” to his friends, of which I am now one) is the the Yuvraj (Prince) of Rajpipla, 39th in line in the Gohil Dynasty, thriving for 600 years in the Princely State of Gujarat.

Manav was educated in Bombay, now known as Mumbai, and grew up primarily in the family’s colonial 15-bedroom mansion, at times with up to 22 servants – the home was eventually sold by the Prince’s grandfather to the Russian consulate, at which point they downsized to an eight-bedroom estate.

“Around the time of puberty, I came to know that I was different from others – I was attracted towards the same sex … I wasn’t sure what it was called … I certainly knew that I was different from others…,” explained the Prince, who did not know at the time that this was called “gay” or “homosexual.”

Manav was married at the age of 25.  His wife was 22. The marriage lasted for just 15 months and ended in an annulment. He was emotionally attached to his wife but not sexually, hence the marriage was never consummated. The young couple lived in one of the wings of the family’s 35-bedroom, 100-year-old palace, and had the marriage continued, they would have been presented with a palace of their own.

Manav was emotionally fragile, if not distraught, after his marriage ended, “so I didn’t have the courage to go back and live in the palace. Instead, I lived in Bombay for some time, till I got balanced, mentally balanced,” adding that, “In order to obtain mental equilibrium, I joined a short course in Yoga. I actually stayed in a Yoga center for a short period of time, just to fill in the gaps to attain the kind of mental balance in my life…”

A classified advertisement in a local paper led Manav to a community of gay men where he met one of India’s leading gay activists, Ashok Row Kavi. “It turned out that he was my next door neighbor,” the Prince exclaimed of Ashok.  “I couldn’t’ believe that, my god, the guy who I’ve been searching since the time I’ve known about him happens to be my next door neighbor.”

Much later, the Prince started drifting away from the family business and became more involved in gay activism and HIV/AIDS awareness and treatment issues.  After a breakdown, hospitalization and the intervention of a psychologist, Manav ultimately came out in the media, creating a firestorm and resulting in the King and Queen publicly disinheriting him. Ultimately, they reconciled.

“My hopes and dreams are to make India a country which accepts homosexuals, accepts us the way we are, as human beings. It is the mindset of the society which needs to be changed. I’ve just given a push to this movement by openly coming out and talking about our rights. I wish to continue this,” declared the Prince, “and I wish to see a day where gay marriages are allowed in our country.”

Could this be karma?

“Maybe I was assigned to be born in that manner. Maybe I was assigned to be an activist. Otherwise, you can think, I had no doubts of anything in my life. I had all the luxuries of life with me.  What was the necessity of me to start in the first place an organization to work for the gay community? There was no reason for me to do that. Give aside homosexuality – there is not a single royal family in India who has started an organization to work on HIV/AIDS. So, I think of it as maybe I was assigned to be born in this family and to be born here,” concluded the Prince, “and to find support from people like Ashok Row Kavi – who happened to be in my neighborhood!”

SnowBiz Florida Agenda

Follow Nicholas Snow online at  www.Facebook.com/SnowbizNow, www.Twitter.com/SnowbizNow, and at www.SnowbizNow.com. Follow “The Power To Be Strong” HIV Testing/ Safer Sex Awareness Campaign at www.Facebook.com/PowerToBeStrong.

Italy Rejects Anti-Homophobia Bill

ROME, ITALY – By a vote of 293 to 250, Italy’s parliament has rejected a bill to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people from discrimination. Italy already bans discrimination on the grounds of race, religion, ethnicity and nationality, but activists say rising numbers of homophobic attacks means LGBT people need more protection.
Gay rights activists have called on the European Union to step in.

Kiwi Lesbian Couple Forced From Home after Attacks

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND – A lesbian couple from New Zealand have been forced to relocate after a string of anti-gay attacks left them terrified. Police are investigating an arson attack which destroyed Lindsay Curnow and Juliet Leigh’s flower business, Blooming Bulbs. The business was torched seven days after being defaced with homophobic graffiti. The pair had also had their homes and car vandalized days earlier.

Now the couple is fleeing to Auckland, where they hope to escape the constant persecution they have suffered for seven years.

Malawi’s LGBT Advocates Threatened with Arrest

LILONGWE, MALAWI – Two of Malawi’s leading LGBT rights advocates are in hiding after being threatened with arrest for treason. Malawi is a small republic located in the middle of Africa.

According to LGBT Asylum News, the two leaders, Undule Mwakasungula, Human Rights Consultative Committee chairperson, and executive director of Centre for Development of People, Gift Trapence, are the strongest advocates for LGBT human rights in Malawi and have long been targeted by the government. The government has blamed withdrawals of foreign aid on them personally.

India’s First Married Lesbian Couple Require Protection

GURGAON, INDIA – India’s first married lesbian couple has been given police protection and moved to a safe house fearing the two women would be targeted in an “honor” killing. Savita, a 25-year old student at Choudhary Charan Singh University and her 20-year old wife Veena were married by a court in Haryana, close to New Delhi, earlier this month.

Savita had been forced to marry a man against her will earlier this year and left her husband just five months after her forced marriage. The court granted her a divorce and gave its approval for her to marry Veena. In the court ceremony on July 22, Savita was designated “husband” and Veena “wife” in India’s first lesbian marriage.

The couple later returned to court after receiving threats from friends and relatives in their village. Their lawyer said the court had served notice on 14 of Veena’s relatives and villagers who had threatened them with “dire consequences”.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police said that the couple has been shifted to a safe house and have been provided enough security.

Durban Declared South Africa’s Gayest City

DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA – Durban has declared itself the “gayest” city in the county, according to the Durban Lesbian and Gay Community Health Center. The Center contends that, compared with other big cities such as Johannesburg and Cape Town, Durban was the most accommodating towards the LGBT community and that Durban has the smallest number of reported hate crimes.

Cuba to Consider Marriage Equality

HAVANA, CUBA – According to CNN, Cuban authorities are considering legislation legalizing same-sex civil unions.

The announcement was made by Mariela Castro, daughter of Raul Castro and the director of Cuba’s national sex education center, during an interview with Spanish broadcaster Cadena Ser earlier this month. Castro, the island’s leading gay rights advocate, said Cuban authorities are already studying the proposal in preparation for the upcoming Community Party conference in January 2012.

Six other Latin American nations already recognize same-sex civil unions: Uruguay, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina and certain states in Mexico (in certain states).