Radha Bhatt: Gandhian Flame Amidst Growing Intolerance
“India never truly understood Gandhi. Now, his legacy is under the bulldozer.”
By Ram Dutt Tripathi
Lakshmi Ashram, Kausani
In the serene heights of Kausani, nestled in the Lakshmi Ashram founded by Sarla Behn, I recently met 91-year-old Radha Bhatt, one of India’s last living torchbearers of Gandhi’s ideals. Though physically frail—with eye issues and persistent leg pain—her voice remains unwavering. “Padma Shri is a small thing compared to the work done, but I accepted it as an honour on behalf of the nation.” Her words reflect both humility and resolve.
Radha Bhatt has spent more than seven decades empowering hill women, leading environmental movements, and nurturing Gandhian institutions like the Sarva Seva Sangh and the Gandhi Peace Foundation, where she once served as president and chairperson respectively. She was also honored internationally as “World Woman 2001” by the American Biographical Institute.
Her journey of social activism began early, inspired and nurtured by Sarla Behn(born Catherine Mary Heilman), a British Gandhian who came to India in 1915 and dedicated her life to uplifting rural Himalayan communities. Sarla Behn founded the Lakshmi Ashram in Kausani and was a key figure in the Sarvodaya and Chipko movements. Radha Bhatt joined Lakshmi Ashram at the age of 17, embracing Gandhian principles of non-violence, self-reliance, and environmental stewardship under Sarla Behn’s mentorship. This formative experience shaped her lifelong commitment to social justice and sustainable development.
But behind the national honour lies concern and pain. “India never truly understood Gandhi,” she told me, disheartened by the growing communal hatred, mob lynchings in the name of cows, and the deepening inequalityshe sees in today’s society.
“Gandhian institutions are in crisis now. At any moment, a bulldozer may be sent.” She reminded us of the government’s recent demolition of the Sarva Seva Sangh campus in Varanasi, a historical Gandhian site, to make way for a seven-star hotel and business complex.
Out of respect for generational change, she has voluntarily resigned from all organizational positions to allow young people to take leadership. During our visit, she generously gifted a copy of her memoir-based book “Ve din ve log Ek Sansmaran Yatra “to my wife Pushpa, who accompanied me to this deeply meaningful encounter.
Radha Bhatt’s legacy is not just in the awards or institutions she led, but in the quiet, moral clarity with which she continues to speak truth to power—even from a quiet Himalayan ashram.
