Bath's Indian deputy mayor 'proud to inspire others'

Dr Yukteshwar Kumar is Bath's first deputy mayor of Indian heritage

Bath's new deputy mayor has spoken of his pride at being an inspiration and role model for people in the city who are from diverse backgrounds.

Yukteshwar Kumar was the first person of Indian heritage to be elected to Bath and North East Somerset Council.

He became a councillor for the Bathwick ward in May 2019 and was appointed deputy mayor in May 2021.

Dr Kumar said: "I'm the first person from Asian heritage to be the deputy mayor of Bath. I'm very proud of that."

Dr Kumar said he was delighted to be able to open Bath's Shree Jagganatha Temple as his first official duty

Less than half an hour after Dr Kumar was elected to Bath and North East Somerset Council, Dr Bharat Pankania became only the second person of Indian heritage to be elected to the council. Both are Liberal Democrats.

"There's a man who fled from Pakistan because of religious persecution and now lives in Bath.

"He said to me 'we're so proud of you, you're doing so much for the community.' It's giving inspiration to other people,'" said Dr Kumar.

"Quite a lot of people have an interest in local politics because of me" he added.

"They think if I can do it, they can get involved in community service. You need to give and not think of taking anything."

'We need rainbows'

Dr Kumar is an advocate for BAME issues and an expert in Chinese literature and culture.

The 50 year old is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Bath and has worked as an interpreter for Indian and Chinese political and business leaders.

His first duty as deputy mayor was to open the Lord Jagannatha temple in Bath.

He said: "The council needs to do something for all the other communities. Temples can act as a conduit between various communities.

"The world is big, we should look at that. We could be the best county as far as diversity, equality and inclusion are concerned.

"It would be very boring if everyone spoke the same language. We need rainbows."