SEWA Founder & Gandhian Activist Ela Bhatt Passes Away at 89

Ela Bhatt had been the recipient of the Padma Shri (1985) and the Padma Bhushan (1986).

Ela Bhatt, lawyer and Gandhian activist who found the Self-Employed Women's Association of India (SEWA) in 1972, passed away at the Ahmedabad Hospital at the age of 89 on Wednesday, 2 November.

Bhatt had been the recipient of several awards for her work to empower impoverished women in Gujarat, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership (1977), the Padma Shri (1985), and the Padma Bhushan (1986).

She has served the general secretary of SEWA from 1972 to 1996. She had been the chancellor of the Gujarat Vidyapith until 19 October this year, when she stepped down from the university founded by Mahatma Gandhi. She had also been serving as the chairperson of the Sabarmati Ashram from 2016.

Condolences poured in for the esteemed social worker on Twitter.

"Extremely saddened by the passing away of renowned Gandhian & founder of SEWA, Ela Bhatt ji. A Padma Bhushan recipient and a pioneer of women's rights, she devoted her life in empowering them through grassroots entrepreneurship. Her exceptional legacy shall always inspire," Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge wrote on Twitter.

Extremely saddened by the passing away of renowned Gandhian & founder of SEWA, Ela Bhatt ji.

A Padma Bhushan recipient and a pioneer of women's rights, she devoted her life in empowering them through grassroots entrepreneurship.

Her exceptional legacy shall always inspire. pic.twitter.com/OjtQoOeEgj

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) November 2, 2022

Ela Bhatt was a truly iconic figure and a pioneer in the movement for empowerment in the unorganised sector, first in Gujarat and later across the country. SEWA is her greatest legacy and has made a huge difference to the lives of millions of women and their families.
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— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) November 2, 2022

I was a young reporter writing on urban issues in India and the Asia-Pacific when I first met Ela Bhatt. I will always remember the warmth and respect she showed while talking to a ‘junior’ like me. She treated me no differently from the way she treated well-known editors.

— PatralekhaChatterjee পত্রলেখা চ্যাটার্জী (She/Her) (@patralekha2011) November 2, 2022

So very very saddened to hear this. Ela Bhatt was the gentlest of revolutionaries , changing lives of more than a million women through SEWA, ever the beacon of ethical activism. She will always inspire. Godspeed Elaben. You were one in a million. #ElaBhatt https://t.co/4yGXqNfHoF

— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) November 2, 2022

Our deepest condolences on the passing away of well-known Gandhian and women’s rights activist, Ela Bhatt ji.

A relentless advocate of economic empowerment of women, she is a Padma Bhushan recipient.

Her contribution to the welfare of women shall always be cherished. pic.twitter.com/yewcppLvqP

— All India Mahila Congress (@MahilaCongress) November 2, 2022

The remarkable Ela Bhatt who founded the Self Employed Womens Association passes away. She represented the best of Gandhian values and changed the lives of 1000s of women and inspired many ! A true maker of modern India! Om shanti 🙏 pic.twitter.com/3NB8sJHV6K

— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) November 2, 2022

The social activist has also served as a Rajya Sabha MP and an adviser to the World Bank. In 2007, she had joined the Elders, a group of world leaders founded by Nelson Mandela to promote human rights and peace.

"Non-violence, to me, has never been a lack of action or timid acceptance, it has been a force of its own that is connected with wider day-to-day political, social, and economic struggles for the freedom of the poor and women workers," Bhatt had written in a piece for The Indian Express last year.