Who Was Ela Bhatt? Gandhian And SEWA Founder Passes Away

In 1972, Ela Ramesh Bhatt founded the Self-Employed Women's Association of India, the world's largest self-employed informal workers' organisation that is based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The law graduate and a follower of Mahatma Gandhi, Elaben Bhatt received several national and international honours for her work.

On November 2, Elaben Bhatt passed away at the age of 89 years after a brief illness at a hospital in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. She was law-trained and served as the chancellor of Gujarat Vidyapath during 2015-2022 and as Sabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust's chairperson. She founded and led one of the biggest national trade unions and women cooperatives SEWA as general secretary from 1972 to 1996. Here's a look at her early life and professional and social achievements.

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Who Is Ela Bhatt? SEWA Founder Passes Away At 89

Born in 1933 on September 7 in Ahmedabad, Ela Bhatt's parents were active in social work as her father was a prominent lawyer and her mother was the secretary of the All India Women's Conference. She had an elder and a younger sister and spent her childhood in Surat. She went to Sarvajanik Girls High School in Surat and opted for a Bachelor of Arts degree with English as her major in 1952 at Surat's MTB College. Following in her father's footsteps, she went on to receive a law degree from Ahmedabad's LA Shah Law College in 1954. Her work on Hindu law got her a Gold medal in college.

She briefly worked as an English teacher at Mumbai's SNDT Women's University and in 1955 joined Textile Labour Association (TLA), Ahmedabad and worked extensively to understand the life of textile labourers. In order to give informal labourers the recognition and state benefits they deserve, she founded SEWA in collaboration with TLA in 1972. She was also a part of The Elders, a group formed by Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and Grace Machel to unite world leaders and tackle world problems. She worked for equality for women and girls, against child marriage and violence while being associated with the community.

She married Ramesh Bhatt in 1956 and had two children, Mihir and Amimayi. She received prestigious honours like Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Indira Gandhi Prize For Peace, Disarmament and Development, Niwano Peace Prize, Ramon Magsaysay Award, Harvard University's Doctorate degree in Humane Letters and Doctorate in Humane Letter from Georgetown University.