Ela Bhatt Obituary

Ela Bhatt was a Gandhian, activist, and cooperative organiser from India. Bhatt was born in the Indian city of Ahmedabad.

In 1952, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from M.T.B. College (South Gujarat University) in Surat. Ela attended the Sir L.A. Shah Law College in Ahmedabad after graduating.

In 1954, she was awarded a law degree as well as a Gold Medal for her work on Hindu law. Ela Bhatt was the general secretary of the Self-Employed Women’s Association of India (SEWA) from 1972 to 1996.

From 7 March 2015 to 19 October 2022, she was the chancellor of Gujarat Vidyapith.  Bhatt, a trained lawyer, was active in the international labour, cooperative, women’s, and micro-finance movements and received numerous awards.

Ela Bhatt received numerous national and international awards, including the Padma Bhushan, the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize, and many others.

She widely recognised as a woman leader who established many institutions and pioneered work in organising the informal sector for self-employment and women’s empowerment not only in India but throughout South Asia.

Ela Bhatt  died on Wednesday, November 2, 2022, after a brief illness in an Ahmedabad hospital. She was 89.

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