Padma Shri Lakhimi Baruah: The Woman Banker Inspiring Women to Chase their Dreams and Turn Them into Reality

This resident of Jorhat district of Assam is the founder of Assam's first women-run Co-operative Bank for women. Baruah named it Konoklata Mahila Urban Cooperative Bank, in tribute to Konoklata Barua, the freedom fighter of Assam who gave her life for the country at the tender age of 17. The bank, located in Jorhat, has positively influenced the lives of hundreds of women in Jorhat and its neighbouring districts in Assam.

The year 2020 and 2021 saw five women from the North East conferred with India's prestigious Padma Shri award. The recipients were Lakhimi Baruah of Assam, Trinity Saioo from Meghalaya, Hanjabam Radhe Devi of Manipur, Birubala Rabha of Assam and Pi B. Sangkhumi of Mizoram, who positively impacted the lives of many in their vicinity, while also immensely excelling in their respective fields.

Today, we want to focus on one of these five incredible women- Lakhimi Baruah, a banker and social worker from Assam, who was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award in the country, for her contribution to society and whole- hearted attempt to financially empower the women of Assam.

Born in 1949 in Golaghat, Assam, Baruah had always seen women struggling to make ends meet in her hometown. After graduating from Jorhat's Bahona College, she married in 1973. A few years later, she started working for the District Central Co-Operative Bank and went on to become its Accounts Manager.

This resident of Jorhat district of Assam is the founder of Assam's first women-run Co-operative Bank for women. Baruah named it Konoklata Mahila Urban Cooperative Bank, in tribute to Konoklata Barua, the freedom fighter of Assam who gave her life for the country at the tender age of 17. The bank, located in Jorhat, has positively influenced the lives of hundreds of women in Jorhat and its neighbouring districts in Assam.

To Lakhimi Baruah goes the credit of establishing the first bank in the state exclusively run by and meant for women. However, she has traversed a long road from when she was just a high school student, to be where she is today. From her youth, Baruah was an observer. She had empathetic eyes which were capable of noticing the sufferings that women go through. Her keen observance and sympathy for her own kind made all the difference in the later stages of her life.

Her ventures started with her establishing the Mahila Samiti (women's committee) for Dakshin Sarbaibandha area of Jorhat district, in the year 1983. Baruah became aware of the financial insecurity of the economically and educationally backward women with whom she interacted on a daily basis. She noticed that these women, with whom she worked in large numbers, didn't have any money saving mechanism, even though they were involved in small income-generating work. This gave birth to the idea in Baruah's mind, of developing a bank which could cater to the saving needs of these women.

Baruah had previously expressed before many that she had witnessed women in her society being financially weak. Added to that was their lack of education. Moreover, the information and knowledge of obtaining loans from banks simply didn't exist among them.

Her contribution towards women's welfare also included the formation of various self-help groups. She approached banks, seeking financial help in such matters. However, she did not receive any support from the banks in this matter. Baruah was associated with the Central Co-operative bank for some time. She realized during her time there that it was difficult for women to even submit their documents properly.

After experiencing the problems and noticing all of these issues plaguing her sex, Baruah was determined to initiate something exclusively meant for and operated by women. However, she was aware that executing this decision was not going to be easy. But she desperately wanted to embark on this goal of hers.

The year 1990 saw Lakhimi Baruah take the initial steps in her attempt to establish an all- women bank. It took a lot of effort but she established the foundations of the Kanaklata Mahila Co-operative Bank with 52 promoter members in that year. Baruah's tireless efforts finally seemed to be headed in the right direction.

According to Baruah, the Bank's primary motive was to extend all the benefits of commercial banking, which was inclusive of safe empowerment that could pave the way for self-employment. Popularizing thrift culture and banking habits among women was another objective of her bank, she had said.

Baruah's efforts saw another achievement made, when the Reserve Bank of India registered her bank on May 22, 1998, as a financial institution. The bank's general assembly appointed Baruah as its managing director. She still works in this position. With time, the bank spread out, setting up its branches in many new locations. It is to be noted that the bank has not suffered any loss ever since it commenced its services. Baruah's notable efforts now facilitate women in having the option of a trustworthy financial institution for women. Additionally, they can now avail loans at affordable interest rates.

In the meantime, Baruah wrote two letters to RBI's Mumbai and Guwahati offices respectively to seek help in establishing the women-only bank. The bank responded to her letters favourably and gave her the green signal to go forward with her plan.

That was followed by another eight years of struggle to finally have the bank recognized in 1998.

According to Baruah, that time period inflicted a great deal of frustration in her mind. The proposals were rejected by the concerned authority time and again in every six-month gap. They were not able to meet the criteria that were demanded by the authority. Baruah and the stakeholders broke down many times. People were losing confidence in them.

Even after finally registering, the next stumbling block in their path was obtaining the license to facilitate financial dealings, which demanded at least 1000 members and an amount of Rs 8 lakh.

A ray of hope, however, emerged when some known women and housewives approached her to buy up to 10 shares of Rs 100 each.

In the year 1999, Baruah and her team managed to gather the Rs 8.45 lakh capital. The total number of members stood at 1420. The following year the RBI issued the bank a license for financial transactions on February 16, 2000. Later , the bank also received additional funding from North Eastern Development Finance Corporation and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and refinance from Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK).The first day saw the opening of 17 accounts.

The bank started by recruiting six employees initially, through tests and on the basis of the applicant's qualifications.

For a start, the first branch was opened in 2002 at Gar-Ali. At present, they have three more branches in two districts — Jorhat (Jorhat and Mariani) and Sivasagar (Sivasagar).

Baruah now recounts the difficulty to make something like this possible. Starting a Bank that was meant to serve women and to be run by women was something improbable in the 1990s in Assam.

This bank also benefits rickshaw-pullers and daily wage earners with its services and schemes. As of November 2021, the bank has provided loans to about 300 women self-help groups.

Lakhimi Baruah attributes her success to her late husband Prabhat Baruah, who was a constant pillar of strength to her with his efforts. It was he who named the bank after Konoklata Barua, the freedom fighter of Assam who gave her life at the age of 17.

Apart from the coveted Padma Shri, she has also received the Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Award - (2015) and the Jingle award - (2019)

The Jorhat district administration selected Baruah as one of the icons for Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) for the Assembly polls 2021.

Lakhimi Baruah's achievements and journey in life inspired many and will continue to inspire women of all sections of society in the future.

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