Petal Gahlot

Some Lesser Known Facts About Petal Gahlot

• Petal Gahlot was born and raised in New Delhi.

• She is an Indian Foreign Service diplomat who is currently serving as First Secretary at India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations.

• Petal grew up in a family of public servants, with her father, a retired army officer and a former Principal Commissioner of Customs (IRS).

  

• Gahlot developed her interest in foreign languages and international affairs during her school time. She started learning French at her early age.

• During her college years, she actively participated in debate competitions that built her strong public speaking abilities.

• In 2015, Petal joined the Indian Foreign Service and worked in roles that combined policy work with language and cultural outreach.

• During the early professional journey, Petal trained herself in diplomatic communication and United Nations procedures before receiving any international assignments.

• In 2018, she did a master’s in Language Interpretation and Translation, a skill that is very useful in international communications, such as the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). In an interview, she mentioned that these studies gave her both subject knowledge and language tools that diplomacy needs. Her training also included time abroad, where she learned about global institutions and how different countries organize their messages.

• In 2020, she served as Under Secretary in India’s Ministry of External Affairs, where her work was included in the Europe West division, and had postings in Indian missions abroad.

• She has also posted in Paris and San Francisco, where she handled political and cultural matters and learned the practical work of running a mission.

• In July 2023, Petal Gahlot was posted to India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York as First Secretary.

  

• Later in September 2024, she served as an Advisor at the United Nations. In these roles, she handled briefings, coordinated India’s messages at meetings, and spoke for India in replies and formal interventions.

• In September 2025, Petal Gahlot got public attention when she delivered a sharp right-of-reply at the United Nations General Assembly after the speech of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. In the reply, Gahlot accused Pakistan of shielding terrorist outfits and spreading falsehoods while attempting to portray defeat as victory.

  

• Beyond Petal Gahlot’s professional career as First Secretary, she is a passionate musician. She often shares videos of herself playing the guitar, where some of her performances on songs such as Bella Ciao, Lost On You, and Kabira from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013), among others, went viral.

• Petal’s father, Sanjay Gahlot, is also a professional musician, and they perform together as a father-daughter band.

• Petal Gahlot is also passionate about writing and travelling. She has a blog website named ” The Scorpion’s Opinion”, where she shares about the places she visits and her travel experience across India and abroad.

• She is an avid cat lover.

• Petal Gahlot is multilingual in French, English, and Hindi.