Renowned women's rights activist and one of the last Gandhians, Ela R Bhatt passed away at a hospital in Ahmedabad on Wednesday after a brief illness. She was 89 years old.
People closely associated with her described her death as the 'end of an era". She has left behind a rich legacy of women empowerment through her initiative of Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA), one of the biggest women's cooperatives.
Its website describes it as "the single largest central trade union" registered on April 12, 1972 with a membership of 2.1 million poor, self-employed women workers from the informal economy across 18 states in India.
"Ela Bhatt was the last of the great Gandhians. With her deep commitment to the poor and the dispossessed, her ability to combine struggle with institutional reforms, both nationally and globally, her faith in the creativity and organisational ability of women who were her co-workers and her strength, she exemplified Lokchetna and Lokshakti. With her demise, an era comes to an end. It will put a large gap in the fabric of our public and institutional lives that we will have to learn to live with," commented Gandhian scholar and provost at CEPT university, Tridit Suhrud who has been closely associated with Bhatt.
'Elaben', as she was fondly known, was born on September 7, 1933 to an activist mother Vanalilaben and advocate father Sumantrai Bhatt in Ahmedabad.
She graduated in English from Surat and later studied law and became a lawyer. She also taught at Mahatma Gandhi-founded university, Gujarat Vidyapith, which she headed as its chancellor until recently from 2015.
She fought for the rights of socially and economically marginalised rural women workforce, who were not covered by any legislation or were not entitled to any social security then.
London-based Elders Foundation, founded by Nobel Peace Laureate Nelson Mandela, described 'Elaben' as "one of the world’s most remarkable pioneers and entrepreneurial forces in grassroots development."
Sudarashn Iyenger, a trustee of Sabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust (SAPMT) described her as a "very modest and sober person with steely determination who mobilised working women of the world and networked with national and international organisations working for women’s recognition as dignified economic workers contributing to the GDP in their respective countries."
Elaben was heading the SAPMT as its chairperson.
She was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1986 and Roman Magsaysay for committee leadership back in 1977.
Prime minister Narendra Modi was one among those who condoled her passing away. He twitted in Gujarati, "Sad to know about the death of Elaben Bhatt. She will be remembered long for her work towards women empowerment, social services and education. Condolences to her family and admirers."