SEWA founder Ela Bhatt appointed new Gujarat Vidyapith Chancellor

The Gujarat Vidyapith, a deemed university founded by Mahatma Gandhi, has appointed 82-year-old Ela Bhatt, the founder of Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), as its new Chancellor. Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson Gopal Krishna Gandhi was offered the job, but he refused to take it up. Bhatt will be the first woman Chancellor to head the Vidyapith.

Bhatt will succeed Narayan Desai, who left the post due to his health — he is still bed-ridden in a Surat hospital. Her name was doing the rounds since the post was left vacant. Rajendra Khimani, the registrar of the Vidyapith, said that the decision was unanimously taken during a meeting of the trustees on Saturday evening where her name was finalised. He said that Bhatt is an obvious choice, given her international stature and the Gandhian values that she holds.

One of the trustees present at the meeting said that her name was suggested by a senior, Govind Raval. Within minutes, the trustees gave their approval. He said that “it was a historic moment in Vidyapith since her name was decided and approved by the trustees in less than three minutes”. He added that the outgoing Chancellor Desai had also suggested her name for the post. However, the varsity first consulted Gopal Krishna Gandhi, who refused to take up the post. In the past, his name had been cleared, but it was always mired in controversy.

For Bhatt, it is like home-coming at the Vidyapith. According to Sudarshan Iyenger, former vice-chancellor and trustee of the varsity, Bhatt’s husband, Ramesh, had started his career from the Vidyapith. “After marriage, she entered the Vidyapith campus for the first time and subsequently joined Majoor Mahajan Sangh (a union started by Mahatma Gandhi),” said Iyenger.

He said that during her stint with the union, she was provoked by the male members and eventually started SEWA. She is the first woman who made the country realise women’s contribution to the Gross Development Product (GDP) and established that even informal work should be treated as formal work. Through SEWA, she empowered women to get their rights by way of struggle against the state.

Source:: Indian Express