National Domestic Violence Awareness Project

profeminist:

thefunkyavocado:

profeminist:

“I am in the process of developing the first-of-its-kind LGBTQA (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans Queer Allies) Community Centre in India, which will be located in the royal establishment of Hanumanteshwar in Gujarat state.

This 15-acre estate, situated on the banks of the holy river Narmada, was developed by my great-grandfather and the last ruler of Rajpipla princely state, Maharaja Vijay Singhji in 1927.

My great-grandfather built a beautiful palace on the royal establishment of Hanumanteshwar, similar to the architecture of the Windsor Castle. He even imported weeping willow trees from the UK, and planted them on the banks of the Narmada, giving it the appearance of Windsor Castle on the river Thames. Unfortunately, the palace was destroyed and damaged by floods from the river.

I’m in the process of restoring some portions of the palace; I’m also adding new structures to the old building. This property was gifted by my father after I came out openly as a gay person. He even laid the foundation stone by performing a ritual for the LGBTQA Community Centre renovation and extension. The priest of the centuries-old Hanuman temple in the neighbourhood was also present for the ceremony.

The thought of developing this resource centre for the LGBTQA community came to my mind after I went through discrimination myself, when I came out. My parents publicly disowned me from the royal family and disinherited me from the ancestral property. But later, they resolved the matter and I got this royal establishment as a compromise.”

Read the full letter here

HOW. AWESOME. IS. THIS?!? 

NICE WORK  MANVENDRA GOHIL!!!

Take me to the gay palace.