Watch: India's first openly gay prince talk about his sexual orientation

New Delhi, Mar 11: At a time when activists are fighting for decriminalisation of sexual activity between same sex consenting adults under section 377 of the IPC, Manvendra Singh Gohil, the prince of Rajpipla in Gujarat, has openly admitted to being a gay.

In a video with the YouTube channel 'ComeOut Loud', Manavendra Singh, a human rights activist, shared his experiences during childhood, and how he realized is sexual orientation.

In the video, Manvendra Singh has admitted that he is a gay and that having brought up in an orthodox royal manner he faced a lot of difficulty in understanding his sexual orientation and his emotions.

In the inspiring video the prince said that having grown up under the charge of an uneducated governess, with little access to the outside world with no internet those days, and a lack of close friends things were not easy for him.

He even got married to a royal proncess in 1991 but his decision turned out to be a disastrous one. After 15-months of marriage he parted ways with his wife as by then he had understood his sexual orientation.

Singh, discovered himself happened with journalist and prominent LGBT rights activist Ashok Row Kavi, who ran the fisr gay newsletter in India called 'Bombay Dost'. Ashok Row Kavi acted as his mentor and guided him to acceptance.

Homosexuality has been associated with royal families but this is the first occasion when a member of any royal family in the country has openly admitted to being gay.

In the video, Singh says, "Gay rights cannot just be won in the courtrooms but also in the hearts and minds of the people we live with."

Watch this inspiring story of first openly gay prince in India:

OneIndia News