Shiban Khaibri
Co-operative movement week was celebrated in the state of Jammu and Kashmir just like all other states of the country recently from Nov14 – 20. As usual, meetings, public awareness programmes, functions, speeches, TV debates and the like, took place during this week. How many of us really try to look at the co-operative movement not casually or just formally but with an element of required seriousness especially post celebration of the “co-operative week,” is reflected with the level of success in terms of how much economic development of our state is there as a result of the contribution of the co-operative societies at primary, central and apex levels. Besides, how much we attempt to know that co-operative movement, so important and vital to our economy, the farmers, the producers, the suppliers, the consumers and almost all segments of the society, is not on firm rails in our state, not because the state government has not been that responsive to the expected role it should play in furthering the movement but because of host of other reasons. Let a few of them be analysed.
The state has been blessed with natural bounties in abundance, water, fertile and mostly irrigated land, forests, flora and fauna, cattle wealth and above all hard working and industrious people. What is the reason, then, for example that we have all these 65 years of our independence not been in a position to start a movement like “Amul”? In 1946, this giant enterprise from Gujarat known world over, started with just two villages forming co-operatives in Kaira District, thanks to the advice – to be precise, golden advice, given by the visionary Indian national leader Sardar Patel to the villagers of these two villages who approached him to seek his advice to fight exploitation and unfair trade practices indulged in by middlemen and others like money lenders and feudal influential village lords. The principle of Co-operative culture being, “Each for all and all for each” sincerely and purposely pursued by the villagers coupled by the veteran, visionary, honest and sincere professional Dr. Verghese Kurein, more and more villages joined into the co-operative movement emerging as largest milk producers in the world and ushering in an era of “white revolution” and in addition to catering to the domestic demand, they are fairly marketing overseas as well. Late Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri was so much impressed with the phenomenal success of AMUL that he wanted to pursue Amul model to the extent of making it the basis of a National Dairy Development policy. Other states who want to achieve self sufficiency instead of purchasing from the neighbouring states, tried successfully to learn from the success of Amul that as a result, VERKA sprouted in Punjab, VIJAYA in Andhra Pradesh, MILMA in Kerala, GOKUL in Maharashtra, SARAS in Rajasthan, NANDINI in Karnatka and so on excepting in our state, where perhaps avoidable part of unproductive politics takes the best of the priorities of the state government. Like this, more than 20 million milk producers pour milk in nearly 1.50 lac dairy co-operative societies daily across the country. Milk is processed in 177 District co-operative unions and marketed by 25 marketing federations. It is heartening, thanks to the success of the co-operative movement that 70% of the milk producer members are small, marginal farmers and landless labourers. As per figures available for the financial year 2010-11, export of milk to 37 countries worth Rs.150 crores was registered. The co-operative movement could make it possible to produce 25 million kgs of milk per day across the country.
How is it that co-operative institutions having been registered under both The Jammu and Kashmir co-operative societies Act of 1989 and The Jammu and Kashmir Self Reliant Act 1999, the number of units of dairy as on date for the whole state is abysmally low, rather shockingly negligible? What is the position of the number of poultry units, reportedly not at all satisfactory? There is no dearth of the financial support to the societies from the state government, the co-operative Banks and above all the big commercial banks under GOI undertaking, many of whom have been adopting many co-operative societies in entire village or a block to ensure that finance was not any difficulty for the functioning of the societies mainly at primary village level in addition to central and apex levels.
It is a fact that much is expected from the movement to build a self sustaining economy by entering various sectors of the state’s economy. How much steady momentum in the last nearly three decades has been noticed is not that encouraging. The maxim of raising funds by deposits from members and thus encourage thrift and self help at the first instance, has not picked up fast. Agricultural credit societies being at the core of the co-operative movement need to be organized more vigorously. We have not only multipurpose co-operative societies but also co-operative unions of farmers, labourers, fishermen, milkmen, artisans and the like. We have fruit grower co-operative societies but not more than 120 or so. We have just 5 women co-operatives, saffron growers’ co-operatives and nearly 500 industrial co-operative societies but the contribution to building a sound self sustaining economy is far from the levels of other states on comparative basis.
We take the massive problem of unemployment in our state, to fight which the conventional method is still in the minds of many that government jobs should be “created” to absorb hundreds of thousands of educated unemployed youth but how much of it is possible in this absolutely inelastic sector, should feel that the co-operative movement offers ample opportunities to the educated youth to form their co-operatives in newer gainful commercial areas so that they gracefully and gainfully earn their livelihood. When the state government has enlarged the area of registration of co-operatives in various economic areas like agriculture, dairy, poultry, housing, floriculture, medical, educational, consumer business, banking, micro- credit, transport, vegetable growing, marketing, women empowerment etc; the unemployed youth should make the best use of them , they can do wonders only and only when they feel enthusiastic the way the people in the Amul movement felt. Our state can produce better results than most of other states. The scope of super bazaars can be widened both in their operative numbers as well as their areas of marketing. Our much talked of Jammu and Kashmir co-operative supply and marketing Federation Ltd (JAKFED) and similar organizations have to come up to the expectations of the people and embezzlements and scams coupled with malfunctioning must have no place in the co-operative movement as it is too fragile to sustain corruption of any kind.
People under the movement come together because they have certain common needs as producers, as workers, as dwellers, as savers, as borrowers etc; for which joint efforts are needed and co-operatives is the answer. It is an economic system, a balancing factor between the private and the public sectors of our economic system. Let the movement be free of cheap politics and corruption of any form, on the sound seven principles reformulated which are known as Manchester Declaration — of voluntary and open membership, democratic control, member economic participation, autonomy cum independence in running societies, education, training and information, co-operation among co-operatives, and concern for the communities.
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