By Jyotindra Mehta
Deeply saddened by the demise of a true Gandhian Smt. Elaben Bhatt. Her parting from the world has proved to be a blow for the women of the world, especially, the women of Gujarat and the cooperative sector of India. The void created by her exit would be very difficult to fill in. She had succeeded in the life full of dignity and financial inclusion to women around the world. They could get a meaningful existence as a result of her untiring efforts.
Her contribution to the co-operative sector is well known to all of us. We are proud to have worked with such a selfless lady, who always strived to strengthen to uplift the lives of weaker sections through financial inclusion and cooperative movement. The women who earned by sitting in the streets as hawkers, got the status of self-employed women due to her consistent efforts. She had been a chairperson of Women’s World Banking. She served in the RBI as director of the central board.
She was concerned for the wellbeing of the people active in the cooperative sector. She valued the power of the quantity by saying, “We are Small, but, we are many”.
I was fortunate to have been actively worked with her for the cooperative segment. I got inspired by her sage-like system of working and process of thinking. People like Elaben, are found in limited edition. My humble, heartfelt condolences and pranam to the departed soul. May her soul be placed in moksha.