Dr Bharat Pankhania is poised to make history as the first person of Indian heritage to serve as Mayor of Bath in the role’s 836-year history. The 798th Mayor of Bath will be formally elected in a ceremony at Bath Abbey tomorrow, a moment Dr Pankhania describes as an incredible honor.
Despite this historic milestone, Dr Pankhania is clear that he does not want to be defined solely by his ethnicity. Instead, he emphasizes his working-class upbringing in Leicester as the defining aspect of his identity. “I’m defined by my background, rather than the fact that I happen to be Indian,” he said. “I’m the Mayor of Bath, and I made it through adversity.”
Growing up as the son of a motor mechanic, Dr Pankhania faced low expectations. He recalls his school teachers having little hope for immigrant children like him, with the assumption they would leave education at sixteen and enter blue-collar jobs. “From my background, I wasn’t supposed to be educated, or achieve anything, let alone go to college and become a doctor,” he explained.
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Yet that is exactly what he accomplished. As a senior consultant specializing in communicable disease control, Dr Pankhania played a vital role during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2019, he has served as a Liberal Democrat councillor for Combe Down on Bath and North East Somerset Council and was Bath’s deputy mayor in 2023.
He met and married Alison Pankhania in 2001, a union that stood in defiance of both their families’ expectations. “I’m anything but a compliant Indian,” he remarked, underscoring his independent spirit.
Education has been Dr Pankhania’s source of empowerment and liberation. As Mayor, he plans to champion “empowerment through education,” fostering greater collaboration among universities and colleges to inspire more young people—particularly those from disadvantaged families—to pursue further education. While Bath is a wealthy city, there remains a significant minority for whom such opportunities are limited. “It’s about lifting young people from families where education beyond school is not the norm and showing them what further education can bring,” he said.
The upcoming mayoral ceremony will also see Ian Halsall, elected Liberal Democrat councillor for Oldfield Park, become Deputy Mayor. His husband, James Fox, will become Deputy Mayor’s Consort. The annual meeting of the city’s charter trustees will take place at Bath Abbey and will feature a traditional civic procession led by the RAF Marching Band and Avon Fire and Rescue Service Drill Squad.
Residents and visitors are welcome to attend the historic event, which will include musical performances and the exchange of ceremonial robes and badges. The procession will wind through Bath’s city centre, highlighting the rich tradition and community spirit that Dr Pankhania now represents as Mayor.