Imagine a world without gays, says gay Indian prince

By Rupam Jain Nair

RAJPIPLA, India (Reuters Life!) - Pumping the bellows of his harmonium, Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil performs with a purpose at the festival he puts on every year to celebrate homosexuality in India, where it is illegal.

"Gays are talented, creative, imagine a world without us," said the flamboyant 42-year-old at the event that promotes gay and bisexual artists and raises awareness about HIV and AIDS.

"I was born gay with some talent and skills, this festival is for people like me," he added as guests filled the hall of his pink palace with classical Indian songs.

Oprah Winfrey, the American talk show host, has invited Gohil to appear on her show later this month, where he will discuss his work as a gay rights activist in a country where homosexuality is a crime, punishable by up to 10 years in jail under a vaguely worded law that bans sex "against the order of nature".

Outside the more liberal enclaves of wealthy middle-class Delhi and Mumbai, gays are often scorned and persecuted in a country where sculptures in ancient temples, murals and other arts graphically depict gay sex.

India's flourishing film industry has often used gays as characters of humor and ridicule.

Gohil, who descends from the royal rulers of Rajpipla, a small town in the western state of Gujarat, was publicly disowned by his family after talking about his sexuality with the media.

India abolished princely kingdoms after independence from Britain in 1947, but many formerly royal families continue to lead lavish lives in sprawling palaces and use their old titles.