Singh gay
India's first openly lgbtq+ prince reveals his parents wanted him to undergo intellect surgery
Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil, India’s first openly gay prince, revealed in an interview that his parents sought medical help to "convert" him after he told them that he was gay.
The probable heir of the Maharaja of Rajpipla in Gujarat told Sky News that he felt humiliated when his parents visited doctors in the wish they could accomplish brain surgery and electroshock therapy to make him straight.
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“It was an absolute case of discrimination and violation of human rights. Whether I'm a prince or not a prince, parents contain no right to put their children through [this] gentle of torture,” he said.
He added that their bid ultimately failed because doctors in the US, where they sought the ‘treatment’, refused to operate while mentioning that homosexuality is not a mental disorder.
"It didn't happen but fantasize how much harassment one has to go through, how much humiliation one has to leave through, just to endure this pain and suffering at the hands of parents - and this is happening to so many individuals in India," he added.
Prince Gohil, who is a
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This blog is part of a series for the Salzburg Global LGBT* Forum’s program on LGBT* and Faith. Scan more here: www.salzburgglobal.org/go/LGBT/blog
You can also attend to Sukhdeep study his essay below.
The Sikh faith is one of the youngest faiths in the world. Founded in the 15th century, Sikhism as a religion is very tolerant and advocates equality; however, the Punjabi customs in which I grew up and which, as a state, is the heart of India’s Sikh community, is often not so tolerant. It is also a faith where, for a long time, no large-scale discussions around the topic of homosexuality have taken place within the community (for wonderful or bad). But as LGBT* rights advance across the world, the status quo within the Sikh faith too is changing tediously, thanks to a young generation of queer Sikhs who are now vocal about their sexuality.
I still remember how lonely and bewildered I felt after coming out (both to myself, and then to the world at large). I grew up in a Sikh family in India, and while I was not particularly religious, I maintained my religious persona by having uncut hair and wearing a turban. My parents were religious, but beyond taking me to Gurudwa Religion editor, BBC News Jasvir Singh lays out some photographs on the table in front of him and takes a deep breath. They are pictures of joyful moments from the day last summer when he married his husband, Nick. "I grasp that speaking about this is going to be highly controversial," he says. "I'm sure there will be lots of people out there who will be upset, annoyed, even angry at me. "But I've got nothing to cover and I know that I have got Waheguru [God] with me, as I have had Waheguru with me all the way." Jasvir is a family law barrister and the main Sikh contributor to Radio 4's Reflection For The Day. He has just been awarded a CBE for his work bringing faith communities together and advocating for vulnerable groups. But through it all, he has lived with a swirl of speculation about his confidential life - often spilling over into attempts at intimidation - that he now wants to handle head-on. "There is a very small element of the British Sikh community that makes itself loudly heard. From them I acquire receiv
Jasvir Singh: 'I'm a devout Sikh - and married to a man'