It’s an emotional moment for me: Manvendra

Manvendra Singh Gohil, prince of the erstwhile royal family of Rajpipla, is revelling in the moment.
���I thank everyone ��� the intellectuals, the activists, the ministers who made this possible for all of us. It���s an incredibly emotional moment. We are now a truly a liberal democracy, a thinking nation,��� he says.
Gohil has been credited with being the first ever royal to come out in the open about his homosexuality.Of course, he���s also been the face of the movement for equal rights for gays in Gujarat, and his story has a universal appeal. That���s why he was on The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Undercover Princes.
He came out in the open in March 2006. ���When I decided to come out of the closet, it was a conscious move. I wanted debates, discussions and empowerment. I knew it was a taboo topic, but look at us now! I mean, now the gay pride parade takes place in Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Bhubaneswar, apart from where it originally started, that is, Kolkata and Delhi. There has also been the ���mainstreaming��� of gay and lesbian issues ��� in terms of representation in cinema, theatre and media. And finally, we���ve been successful,��� he says enthusiastically.
���I see change all around me. At the parade in Delhi, I found it encouraging to see people take off their masks, to witness parents taking part in the rally because they cared for their children and were proud of them. This is the shift I wanted to experience. In fact, in a research-survey, we found that almost 70-85 per cent of gay men are married because they feel pressurised to do so. This puts the women that they marry at great risk. That is why, acceptance by parents is very important,��� explains Manvendra.