“I am not alone in this world. You are bound to me, and I am to you. I am also bound to the people in my community, and we are linked to each neighbouring community. [1]”

Decades before the United Nations International Year of Cooperatives, a gentle revolutionary was born, who declared: “If I see a problem, something has to be done about it. I am an organiser, ready to go in the street, and that has been as long as I can remember. I believe that those who are weak have to get together and find ways to influence decision makers and places of power. [2]” This revolutionary strived to forge an identity for millions of India’s ‘invisible’ workers, to give an audible voice to the silent agents of the lively economy- hawkers, vendors, embroiderers, cart pullers, rag pickers, midwives, headloaders, carpenters, tinsmiths, contract factory workers, idol makers, painters, cigarette rollers and the like- the drivers of the informal sector- the self-employed women. Her story revolves around the hum of daily lives that meets the pulse of survival amidst the clatter of carts, hawks for a living and a silence of being ‘invisible’, underscoring the indomitable force driving her actions.

Opening of the Eyes: Rise of a Gentle Revolution

Born on 7th September 1933 in Ahmedabad to Vanalila Vyas and Sumant Bhatt, a progressive Brahmin family, she grew up in a nation pulsating with the fervour of independence. Her early years were steeped in the ethos of national struggle, the call of Mahatma Gandhi for self-reliance, village republics and non-violence, the news of her relatives being incarcerated for the national cause [3], the lessons being interrupted by distant gunshots or the shouts of the police quelling protests against the colonial rule.

By the time India gained Independence, she was already imbued with the clarity of purpose - nation-building. After graduating from Sarwajanik Girls High School, she joined Maganlal Thakordas Balmukunddas Arts College in Surat, where she earned a bachelor's degree in 1952. Her journey into the heart of India’s informal economy began in 1949 when Ramesh (with whom she would marry in 1956) asked her to accompany him on his rounds of collecting primary data on slum families for the 1951 census. They visited Maynafalia slum, a slum comparable to any other slum of Surat. She recalled the exposure, with great love for her husband, in her book, We are poor but so many: “Ramesh was completely at ease in this environment... I, however, had never seen anything like this at such close quarters, and I was uncomfortable. I was paralysed and passive, frustrated with my inability to step out of my shell.” Walking through the alleyways, she was confronted by the stark realities of the lives of “the other half” which left an indelible impression on her- planting the seeds of her lifelong mission.

In 1954, she graduated from Sir L.A. Shah Law College in Ahmedabad with a gold medal for her work in Hindu law. After a brief stint as a teacher in Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women’s University, she joined, in 1955, the legal department of the Textile Labour Association [4] (TLA), India's oldest union for textile workers, formed in 1920 by Anasuya Sarabhai with a constitution drafted by Mahatma Gandhi himself. From a self-conscious person to an unwavering spokesperson for the workers, the labour court became a transformational ground for her journey.

By the late 1960s, Ahmedabad’s textile industry was in decline. The closure of two major textile mills in 1968 rendered thousands jobless, plunging their families into despair. TLA tasked her with investigating the impact of these closures, and it was during this survey that she encountered the ‘invisible’ workers-enterprising women- the family runners. She met rag pickers sorting through refuse in alleys, vegetable vendors haggling in bustling markets, embroiderers stitching intricate patterns for meagre piecework rates and the like. She was moved by their toil and sheer resilience. Realising how deeply they were trapped in a never-ending cycle of debt and exploitation, she tried to ameliorate a lot for them through TLA, but the vision and mission of TLA were something else.

SEWA: More than a Service

Bhatt often emphasised that poverty is not a God-given problem; it is man-made. The exorbitant interest rates, often 10-20% a day, the lack of basic securities- healthcare, social security and access to capital, fueled by the perpetuating disregard for the work done by the majority of India’s women workforce, corroborated her notion. Equipped with the experience as the first Convenor of the Women’s Wing of Indian National Trade Union Congress, honed by the course (International Diploma in Labour and Co-operative) she took at Afro-Asian Institute of Labour and Cooperatives in Tel Aviv, Israel and armed by the support of some TLA leaders like A. N. Buch, she decided to unionize self-employed women- an uphill task.

“What’s the point of a union for people who aren’t employed?” sceptics at the union registration body scoffed “Who will they agitate against?” Undeterred and inspired by Gandhian ideals, she got the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) registered as a trade union for women workers in India’s huge informal sector in 1972. She served as its secretary-general until her retirement in 1996.

SEWA’s early years were transformative. Within months of its founding, piecework wages for workers increased by an average of 30 percent. With official IDs in hand, they got access to social security and benefits like compensation for accidents at work. But her vision extended beyond immediate relief. She recognised that economic empowerment required financial liberty- liberty from the predatory lenders. With the hope of the nationalisation of banks and consequent mission to serve the poor, SEWA approached the banks on behalf of its members. Both parties were new to this kind of exposure, which ultimately ended in a disagreement. Formal bank staff, trained with official definitions and processes, could not devise a way to lend without collateral to illiterate workers - workers without official standardized names - workers who keep their money intact with their sweat showering body. Similarly, the women workers were inexperienced with the formal atmosphere of working in ‘silence’.

In December 1973, in the SEWA members’ meeting, at Naranghat, a voice rose: “Ben, why can’t we have our own bank?” Undaunted by the current lack of capital to start a bank, a used garment dealer, Chandaben, remarked, “Well, we may be poor, but we are so many.” Driven by the connectedness and strength of their dreams, they collected the requisite share capital within six months and established the SEWA Women’s Cooperative Bank on May 20, 1974.

Registering the bank was no easy feat. Bureaucrats dismissed the idea, claiming that the women were illiterate and not trustworthy (because of their community status and scattered occupations!). The registrar even warned Bhatt that she would have to commit suicide because the women would not repay their loans.

Undeterred and having full faith in her SEWA sisters, Bhatt, with her women comrades, devised innovative solutions to formally satisfy the standard operating procedures. When thumb impressions proved impractical for banking transactions, the women suggested using photographs. Each member was photographed bearing her name, which was affixed to her passbook. Over time, SEWA transformed its bank into a literacy hub. The passbooks had a page of the Gujarati alphabet and numerals. The union also stated providing financial and business counselling- educating them about responsible borrowing and the power of collective bargaining.

Expanding the Vision with Impact

“Ela Bhatt, committed to improving the well-being of self-employed women, was one of those rare people who, in their lifetime, saw more than one law travel from the drafting board to its implementation.” - Indira Jaising

Ela Bhatt’s influence reached global stages. In 1975, she was invited to the International Women’s Conference in Mexico, where she spoke about women’s need for access to credit. In 1979, she made her idea a reality when she co-founded Women's World Banking (WWB), a global network of microfinance organisations supporting poor women, with Michaela Walsh, Esther Ocloo, and Mary Okelo. She served as its Board Chairperson and then as an Honorary Member of the Board for Life. In 1997, she started a collaborative project- Women in Informal Employment: Globalising and Organising (WIEGO) with 9 other specialists on the informal economy to support women workers. With support from WIEGO, StreetNet International came into being in 2002. She played a key role in the International Alliance of Home-based Workers (HomeNet), served as trustee of Rockefeller Foundation and as an adviser to many multilateral organisations such as the World Bank, International Labour Organization etc. on matters relating to microfinance, informal economy, and antipoverty programmes.

In recognition of her work, she received the Ramon Magsaysay Award (1977), Padma Shri (1985), Padma Bhushan (1986), Niwano Peace Prize (2010) and numerous national and international awards.

Bhatt’s advocacy extended to policy reforms. Around the 1980s, when she received an invitation from Supreme Court Justice and Chair of the Free Legal Aid Committee P. N. Bhagwati, to attend a seminar in Delhi, she replied in an agitated mood, giving a detailed account of the injustices done to the Manekchowk6 vendors in the name of the law. Justice Bhagwati turned her letter into a public interest petition, and they (SEWA) engaged Indira Jaising to fight for the rights of street vendors. Their efforts, albeit after three decades, culminated in the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014- a landmark legislation that recognised vendors’ rights to earn a living in public space- the ‘natural market’. Jaising reminisced about the grand celebration in Ahmedabad: “There I saw several of the women I represented beaming with joy. They had made garlands out of vegetables, which we each had to wear, holding hands...” A testament to SEWA’s collective spirit!

Nominated by the President, Giani Zail Singh, to the Rajya Sabha, she advocated for the rights of informal workers, as a member of the Parliament from 12th May 1986 to 26th September 1988. On August 5, 1988, she moved a resolution on street vendors. Chairing the National Commission on Self Employed Women and Women in the Informal Sector, which submitted its report in 1988, she recommended enlargement of the definition of women workers, devising concrete strategies helping these women to enhance the ownership of the control over productive assets, establishment of a monitoring cell in every agency of the Government to ensure that their plans and programmes benefit men and women equally, appointment of a separate Labour Commissioner, in every State, for the unorganised workers, increase in the number of women extension workers and having a national policy on craftsmen among other suggestions.

Her work also shaped international labour standards. In 1995, after decades of discussion, home-based work got on the agenda of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Finally, the Home Work Convention, 1996 (C177) came into being. But, for some reason, India did not ratify it. Unswerving, Bhatt continued her advocacy and work. When she was appointed to the Second National Commission on Labour [7], one of whose terms of reference was to suggest an umbrella legislation for ensuring a minimum level of protection to the workers in the unorganised sector, she lobbied tirelessly for the recognition of their rights.

In 2007, she joined The Elders, an independent group of world leaders to promote human rights, justice and peace, as a founding member. Later, she became an emeritus member in 2016. Closer to home, her efforts contributed to the Unorganised Workers Social Security Act of 2008, extending welfare benefits to unorganised workers. One of SEWA’s missions accomplished!

Education was at the centre of Mahatma Gandhi's vision. Being a sincere Gandhian and Chancellor of Gujarat Vidyapith from 7th March 2015 to 19th October 2022, she undertook numerous initiatives for its betterment.

Challenges and Resilience

“There are risks in every action. Every success has the seed of some failure. But it doesn't matter. It is how you go about it. That is the real challenge.” - Ela Bhatt

Her journey was not without obstacles. In 1981, during a period of caste-based violence in Ahmedabad, she faced a personal and professional crisis. The violence and curfew halted the work and, therefore, the daily wages. To support SEWA’s dalit members, who were targeted during riots, she called for communal harmony, drawing ire from upper-caste groups. Rioters pelted her home with stones, shattering windows and threatening her family. Then, in May 1981, the TLA leadership expelled SEWA from its headquarters, leaving her reeling.

Ramesh, her anchor, saw the break as a blessing, arguing that SEWA’s focus on women’s empowerment was at odds with TLA’s priorities. He was proved right. SEWA not only survived but thrived, becoming a model of resilience. She faced resistance while registering SEWA’s cooperatives. Officials questioned the legitimacy of rag pickers’ and midwives’ cooperatives, revealing deep-seated prejudices against informal workers. Nevertheless, SEWA’s persistence prevailed, creating new frameworks for recognition.

Globalisation in the 1990s brought new challenges, casualisation of work, outsourcing and shrinking public sector, fueled by urban displacement, adversely affected the poor citizenry. Communal riots, like those in the 1990s and 2002, and natural disasters, such as the 2001 Bhuj earthquake, tested her resolve. Bhatt noted: “Just when a woman has just paid off a long-term loan for her new house, an earthquake razes it to the ground; or a mad crowd of religious zealots burns to cinders the brand new sewing machine that a woman bought with her hard-earned savings. Time and again we are caught unawares...” Each crisis, however, became an opportunity to innovate, highlighting her ethos of turning adversity into action.

The Lasting Legacy

“Ela Bhatt will remain in history as one of the key cooperative thinkers and pioneers… She has been a strong source of inspiration for decades.” - Bruno Roelants, former Director General of the International Cooperative Alliance

Ela Bhatt never retired, though she retired from her formal roles. Following her formal departure from SEWA, she pursued her passion in music for herself. After empowering and inspiring innumerable entities, she passed away on 2nd November 2022, but her legacy thrives. SEWA continues to empower millions, with a membership of over 3.2 million by 2025. Initiatives like the eShram portal and the four Labour Codes, viz. the Code on Wage, 2019; the Code on Social Security, 2020; the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 and the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 reflect the systemic changes that she advocated for.

The trinity of economic, social and political democracy paves the way for Viksit Bharat (Developed India). Definitions and categorisations are supposed to streamline the process, not to create hurdles. Her understanding of poverty guides the path to eradicate it.

“…what is poverty but a passive form of violence? A chronic abuse of human dignity that strips away a person’s humanity and corrodes the human spirit? When a woman does back-breaking work for ten hours a day but cannot feed her family with her earnings, society has scorned her labour. When construction workers build housing complexes, but they remain homeless and migrants, society has snatched away their right to safety and a sense of belonging. When a woman dies in childbirth, society shows no regard for her life. When a farmer grows food for the world, but goes hungry himself, society is callous. Such is how society gives its social consent to let the situation continue. For this reason, I say that our silence is violent. Our looking the other way is a form of consent. It is our moral failure that we still tolerate poverty. [8]”

While giving ‘100 miles principle’, providing services locally within a radius of 100 miles, she envisioned fostering accountability and sustainability as it cuts the distance between producer and consumer, government and people, while reducing carbon footprints. Her story is a reminder that change begins with trust—in the resilience of the marginalised, in the strength of community, and in the possibility of a more equitable world. The cooperative movement she catalysed is not just a model for economic empowerment but a philosophy of human dignity. In her words, “There is no development without self-reliance. But there is no route to self-reliance except by organization.”

Notes

• Bhatt, Ela R. Anubandh: Building Hundred-Mile Communities. Navajivan Trust, 2015.
• Ela Bhatt’s speech to the Parliament of Religions in Vadodara, August 2015 -- Role of religious harmony in women’s dignity and empowerment
• Her maternal grandfather Dr. Manidhar Prasad Vyas, joined the Salt March and organised satyagrah at Dharasana Salt Works
• a.k.a. Majadoor/Majoor Mahajan Sangh
• a.k.a. Shri Mahila SEWA Sahakari Bank Ltd.
• The major market of Ahmedabad
• The Commission submitted its report in 2002.
• Bhatt, Ela. Women and Poverty: The Hidden Face of Violence with Social Consent. Speech at the 15th annual Mahatma Gandhi Lecture on Nonviolence at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada.

References and Bibliography

1. Bhatt, Ela R. We Are Poor but So Many: The Story of Self-Employed Women in India. Oxford University Press, 2006.
2. Church, Peter. Profiles in Enterprise: Inspiring Stories of Indian Business Leaders. Roli Books, 2015.
3. Bhatt, Ela R. It is not enough to protect the precincts of Sabarmati Ashram. The Indian Express, 23rd August, 2021.
4. Jaising, Indira. Ela Bhatt: In Memoriam. The India Forum, 10th November 2022.
5. Rajya Sabha Members Biographical Sketches 1952-2019. D. S. Prasanna Kumar, Vandana Singh, Asha Singh, Md. Salim Ali, Mohammad Saleem, editors. Rajya Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi. Retrieved from Digital Sansad https://cms.rajyasabha.nic.
6. Bhatt, Ela R. National Commission on Self-Employed Women and Women in the Informal Sector, Government of India Press, New Delhi, 1988, pp. 249-311.
7. Ratifications of C177 - Home Work Convention, 1996 (No. 177). International Labour Organisation. Retrieved from https://normlex.ilo.org
8. Ela Bhatt. The Elders. https://theelders.org
9. Jhangiani, Namrita. Interview with Ela Bhatt. Interview conducted by Namrita Shahani Jhangiani, Egon Zehnder International, Mumbai, and Arjun Srivastava, Egon Zehnder International, New Delhi. https://www.egonzehnder.com
10. Sewa Bank. https://www.sewabank.com/
11. Making Finance Work for Women for 45 Years- Ela Bhatt. Retrieved from www.womensworldbanking.org
12. New Labour Code for New India. Ministry of Labour & Employment. Retrieved from https://labour.gov.in
13. Self-Employed Women's Association https://www.sewa.org
14. International Cooperative Alliance https://ica.coop/
15. Chancellors. Gujarat Vidyapith https://gujaratvidyapith.org
16. Ela Bhatt/Self-Employed Women’s Association. https://rightlivelihood.org
17. Bhatt, Ela. Women and Poverty: The Hidden Face of Violence with Social Consent. Speech at the 15th annual Mahatma Gandhi Lecture on Nonviolence at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. Retrieved from https://www.womensworldbanking.org
18. Economic Survey 2024-25. Economic Division, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

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