Reviving The Cooperative Movement For A Better India

By Moin Qazi

24 December, 2015
Countercurrents.org

Many years ago, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru made a speech that is often quoted by our cooperators. It was the speech in which he spoke of “convulsing India in cooperation”. Less noted, but far more important, were other words he spoke that day, words that are most relevant today.

“I do not accept the statement often made that the Indian peasant is so frightfully conservative that you cannot make him come out of [his] rut. He is a very intelligent person — given the chance — only a little cautious, only wanting some proof, some evidence of what he is asked to do…and not taking too much for granted. Now that makes cooperation in India for the rural people absolutely essential.”

He continued to say:

“That is why we do not want, as in the past, the district official, or any other official, to throw his weight around too much. Again, he is the adviser and friend, but not the boss.”

He then said:

“…we wanted to draw the mind of the people out of the old conception of some big officials sitting on top and ordering about people to do things…”

Nehru expressed his faith in our rural people and remarked:

“…theirs will be the decisions and if they make mistakes, they will suffer for them, and learn from them.”

To the cynics, the new panchayats represented something more banal, a gift to the local princes who would now enjoy decentralised corruption and unchecked political abuse. Not since the British granted taxation powers to the zamindars, the sceptics said, had the local bosses had it so good
What Jawaharlal Nehru was telling us was that we must learn to trust our citizens. They would learn from their mistakes. Most important, there would be a clear, unambiguous link between the exercise of authority and responsibility on the one hand, and accountability to those who had given that authority and entrusted our leaders with responsibility — the people of India.

What is needed most of all is moral leadership willing to build solutions from the perspectives of poor people themselves rather than imposing grand theories and plans upon them. This is true for all people working in all organizations. Big ideas that are impractical and are not shared by the people who implement them are doomed to failure. Rather, what is needed is leadership that understands how to facilitate the process of idea creation within the context of relationship building. Only from this foundation can the appropriate organizational structures be created to facilitate their success.

True development involves a transformation of the state of a human being. However, such a transformation must have the active involvement and participation of those being affected by it. True development is one that transforms groups without destroying their culture, traditions environment, livelihood and social patterns. They are all central to their existence and should be preserved and protected because they are central to the life of the people. The forests around them provide food, medicine, and livelihood. They provide a sustainable solution to the triple whammy of food security, healthcare and employment which the state is ill equipped to address. True development shouldn’t translate into development as seen by the elite. It must be development as seen by those whose lives are to be transformed. Even in villages in a small cluster there is a vast cultural diversity. A development strategy that has been successful in one village may not necessarily give the same results in a neighboring village. Hence the renewed emphasis of planners on area specific plans. Transplanting cultures has been a favorite idea of armchair development experts. But time has shown that nothing could be as damaging as the imposition of alien culture. Each society, howsoever nascent has a social and cultural apparatus that regulates and balances the divergent traits and traditions. We owe a responsibility that we don’t upset the calculus which has sustained tribes and clans over centuries. the reforms in the areas of land, water, forests and environment would be ineffective they give space to the voice of those affected .They comprise 85%of the population, yet do not find even 5 %space in these seminars and conferences. This is equally true when we are deliberating programmes targeted specifically towards women.

My own background has taught me a lot about the power of investing in poor women, because you do end up feeding a family and not just an individual. For a solution to intractable poverty, we need a massive cultural shift. Foundations, universities, NGOs and financial institutions have to contribute in the form of educational, social and financial programs that can deliver tangible, measurable progress as well as defining clear policy and position points
I also learned through five years of driving to seminars, participating in meetings, and actually working on the project hands-on. I sometimes feel that the reason why most of the younger managers are now loath to rural assignment is that they have not been properly mentored. Something has gone askance somewhere in the alchemy and we have not been able to build a new generation of committed rural bankers.

In a small project everyone can participate in decision-making. That's the only real way to improve a community. The community gets employment and has a feeling of ownership and control. But the practical advantages of participation for project effectiveness and sustainability weigh heavily in favor: participation can reduce waste of project resources and lead to recurrent cost recovery; most important, it gives people a stake in the project resources and thus makes them willing to support it. There are also the negatives of participation: it is difficult, time-consuming, and tricky; it can permit elites or free riders to get more than their share; it can stir up conflicts that traditionally society and culture have been able to keep under wraps; it can alienate governments; and so on. We can always have a basket of recipes to suit every group from which to choose an appropriate one. The success will finally depend on the charisma and the personal commitment of the project leader who inspires the team and lets their creative aquifers charge back to life.

Financial development through public participation enables individuals to make the most of their potential and represents a tool for expanding financial democracy. We have made historic strides toward the consolidation of political democracy, revolutionizing governance in India's rural hinterland but they have not been accompanied by the democratization of means and opportunities. Financial democracy is fundamental for achieving greater inclusiveness, improving social cohesion, and generating broad-based growth. It is therefore crucial for economic dynamism and political stability. It is crucial because the lack of financial democracy prevents people from gaining access to resources that would enable them to make the most of!

Moin Qazi is a well known banker, author and Islamic researcher .He holds doctorates in Economics and English. He was Visiting Fellow at the University of Manchester. He has authored several books on religion, rural finance, culture and handicrafts. He is author of the bestselling book Village Diary of a Development Banker. He is also a recipient of UNESCO World Politics Essay Gold Medal and Rotary International’s Vocational Excellence Award. He is based in Nagpur and can be reached at [email protected]