Ela Bhatt Biography 
Ela Bhatt is a social activist and Gandhian from the state of Gujarat. She was the founder of Self-Employed Women's Association of India (SEWA) in 1972, and served as its general secretary from till 1996. Initially she was associated with textile industry. She currently serves as Chancellor of the Gujarat Vidyapith. For her contributions towards social service, she was honoured with third highest civilian Padma Bhushan by government of India in 1986. She was honoured with Padma Shri one year prior to it. She was also a recipient of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1977 and many other peace prizes and honours.
Ela Bhatt was born in Ahmedabad, present-day Gujarat in the year 1933. Her father, Sumantrai Bhatt was a successful lawyer. Her mother, Vanalila Vyas was a social worker associated with women empowerment. She has two sisters. Her childhood was spent in the city of Surat, where she did her schooling for almost 9 years. For graduation she moved to Surat, and later completed her law studies as well. After studies, she briefly pursued a teaching career and then joined the legal department of the Textile Labour Association (TLA) in Ahmedabad in 1955.
The following year she married Ramesh Bhatt. The couple had two children. Her husband is deceased now. She worked in government sector of Gujarat for a few more years. She moved to Israel in the late 1960s and received International Diploma of Labor and Cooperatives in 1971. She later formed a union for female workers in the textile field. She was a co-founder of Self-Employed Women's Association of India and remained the secretary of the organization for many years. She is also a recipient of Right Livelihood Award 1984; Niwano Peace Prize, Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development 2011 etc.
Published: February 19, 2019
Updated: February 19, 2019
