Row Kavi, who believes Christianity to be the root of homophobic evil, was schooled in Bombay Scottish School, which has Christian affiliations.Īlong with a diploma in religion and comparative theology from Ramakrishna, he also has a bachelors and masters in Chemistry from the University of Bombay. Row Kavi was born on 1 June, 1947, to parents who fled poverty in South India and sought asylum in what was then Bombay. “Even Rama was desired by both and men and women,” he says. The mother of gay activism carries references to the scriptures, folklore, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, on his fingertips - always ready to be deployed in defence of “the inclusive nature” of his faith. He also criticises feminist groups that he alleges receive funding from “Christian missionaries”, and labels them “convenient lesbians.” “The Leviticus,” he says, “can never be changed.” According to Row Kavi, the fight is not against Hinduism at all, but one of repealing a Christian law in an otherwise inclusive Hindu Rashtra. He says homophobic laws were brought by the British when they colonised India, and find their roots in the bible. The swami, whom Row Kavi considers to be a mentor, guided him to “help my people” in the world. Row Kavi relies on Hinduism to fight 377. It was during his training to be a monk in the Ramakrishna Math that Row Kavi came out as being gay to a senior monk, Swami Harshananda. And anyone who disrupts the current situation is a friend in my book,” Row Kavi tells ThePrint in an interview. “The BJP and Modi mind you, are not the same thing.
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But the 71-year-old’s life is full of contradictions - he is an unapologetic right-wing Hindu who supports Narendra Modi.
He has been slapped in the face by Saif Ali Khan, got Nikki Bedi’s talk show kicked off the air by Star TV in 1995, and been taken to court by the RSS.