Avatar photo

Bharat Joshi

British Deputy High Commissioner, Chennai

Read biography

20th February 2014 Chennai, India

Avatar photo

by Bharat Joshi

British Deputy High Commissioner, Chennai

Moving on up. Moving on in.

It’s been a long silence, for which apologies. That’s at least partly down to the fact that I’ve joined the fantastical world of 140 character messages, hashtags and retweeting (@DHC_Chennai if you’re interested). I’ve managed to get up to 44 followers in 2 weeks (it was 45, but a management consultant from Nebraska gave up on […]

Read more on Moving on up. Moving on in. | Reply (4)

15th December 2013 Chennai, India

Avatar photo

by Bharat Joshi

British Deputy High Commissioner, Chennai

Farewell Madiba

It’s been clear for a while that Mandela’s life was drawing inexorably to a gentle and dignified close. But it’s sad nonetheless. I can’t pretend that I ever met him, although I stood about 2 yards way when he visited the FCO. But he influenced my life massively. I knew little about the horror of […]

Read more on Farewell Madiba | Reply (1)

25th November 2013 Chennai, India

Avatar photo

by Bharat Joshi

British Deputy High Commissioner, Chennai

Anniversaries: From India to Dallas to Istanbul

It feels as if it’s been a month of anniversaries, some happy, some sad. On the positive side, we celebrated the Prince of Wales’ 65th birthday in Kerala – a date which, as he said, he proudly shares with Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. On Friday, I was asked to open the 2013 Cultural Festival for the […]

Read more on Anniversaries: From India to Dallas to Istanbul | Reply (3)

20th November 2013 Chennai, India

Avatar photo

by Bharat Joshi

British Deputy High Commissioner, Chennai

CHOGM, and a childhood hero met

Life is – gradually returning to normal. The weight of 400 e-mails in the inbox is distracting, but I’m trying to use the week to better understand the operation. A great outcome on CHOGM, I think. It was a difficult decision to attend, but I think the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary’s willingness to do […]

Read more on CHOGM, and a childhood hero met | Reply

17th November 2013 Chennai, India

Avatar photo

by Bharat Joshi

British Deputy High Commissioner, Chennai

Royal Visit: Epilogue

The sudden absence of adrenaline, imminent deadlines, last-minute glitches and 10 things to do at once has actually brought a massive and slightly dreary sense of anti-climax. I probably shouldn’t be that surprised that several colleagues have fallen ill: like a car, human beings aren’t designed to go from fifth gear into first instantaneously. Even […]

Read more on Royal Visit: Epilogue | Reply (2)

15th November 2013 Chennai, India

Avatar photo

by Bharat Joshi

British Deputy High Commissioner, Chennai

Royal Visit: Wheels-Up

That’s it. It’s all over. Just under an hour ago, their Royal Highnesses flight took off for the short hop to Colombo and what could be a more difficult Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting than is usual. The day dawned beautifully for the Prince of Wales’ 65th birthday – divine intervention in God’s own country?  […]

Read more on Royal Visit: Wheels-Up | Reply (19)

14th November 2013 Chennai, India

Avatar photo

by Bharat Joshi

British Deputy High Commissioner, Chennai

Royal Visit: Day 3

Yesterday was simply amazing. The visit to Cochin shipyard to see the extent of UK involvement in this thriving operation, including by Rolls Royce and MTS, was a much bigger event than any we could ever have managed. Thousands of workers stopped and cheered, and His Royal Highness seemed to engage with all of them. […]

Read more on Royal Visit: Day 3 | Reply (4)

13th November 2013 Chennai, India

Avatar photo

by Bharat Joshi

British Deputy High Commissioner, Chennai

Royal Visit to Kerala: Day 2

Today is the most challenging day. Two separate programmes for their Royal Highnesses mean that all our staff will be in the field, leaving limited surge capacity to handle any unexpected issues. and weather forecasts predicting the start of the monsoon add to the risks. His Royal Highness will visit Cochin Shipyard where UK companies […]

Read more on Royal Visit to Kerala: Day 2 | Reply (4)

12th November 2013 Chennai, India

Avatar photo

by Bharat Joshi

British Deputy High Commissioner, Chennai

Royal Visit: Day One

It’s hard to describe the maelstrom that is a big, high-level visit. The calm before the visit is transformed instantly into high-octane excitement. Impressive convoys that had been sitting idle moments earlier roar into action. Massive crowds seem to suddenly materialise everywhere, many with hastily written welcome placards. The first visit was to the hugely […]

Read more on Royal Visit: Day One | Reply

About Bharat Joshi

Bharat was brought up in Kent. He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1995 from the hotel industry and has had diplomatic postings to the Gambia, Dhaka and…

Bharat was brought up in Kent. He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1995 from the hotel industry and has
had diplomatic postings to the Gambia, Dhaka and Qatar. He was most
recently British High Commissioner to Cameroon, and non-Resident Ambassador to Gabon, Chad, Equatorial Guinea and Central African Republic.
Before that he worked as a Private Secretary to two British Ministers, as well as in various Departments of the FCO including the European Union Department and Press Office.
Bharat has experience of crisis management and has been deployed to the scenes of major incidents involving British nationals, including after the tragic bombing of the British Consulate-General in Istanbul in 2003.
Bharat’s varied career has been spent dealing with a full range of
HMG objectives, including promoting political and economic reform and
improved human rights; improved UK prosperity through trade; climate
change and UN policy issues. A major part of his portfolio in Chennai is supporting mutual prosperity between the UK and India, transforming lives through jobs, entrepreneurship and skills partnerships.
Bharat has been very happily married (at least forhim) to Bhakti for 18 years and they have two
wonderful daughters. His interests are cricket, badminton, history, reading and travelling.
Bharat speaks English, French, Gujarati and Hindi and Spanish, and is desperate to learn Tamil.