Cooperatives have been an indispensable cog in India’s economic and community progress since the pre-Independence era. By aggregating indigenous resources and constructing self-perpetuating networks, India’s multifarious cooperatives have catalysed financial integration and grassroots emancipation across vital sectors like agriculture, banking, dairy, lodging, and artisanal trades.
However, over the decades, deep-rooted afflictions have infested the cooperative apparatus. Excessive political meddling, a dearth of professionalism, archaic technologies and procedures, and fragmented efforts have shackled the sector, impeding it from harnessing its complete socio-economic potential. To rectify this, PM Narendra Modi’s administration took the momentous step of constituting a new, dedicated Ministry of Cooperation in 2021. Even more significantly, the PM chose Amit Shah, frequently portrayed as his ‘right-hand man’, to spearhead this ministry and engineer a large-scale transformation of the cooperative ecosystem.
At first glance, this unanticipated gambit stupefied numerous observers. However, upon rigorous examination, Amit Shah patently emerges as the optimal leader to champion the crucial mission of rejuvenating and bolstering India’s cooperatives. Let us elucidate why Amit Shah was the top seed for this monumental undertaking.
Grassroots exposure in Gujarat’s burgeoning cooperatives
Amit Shah boasts a prolific history of cooperation with cooperatives, especially in Gujarat, which possesses one of the most vigorous cooperative sectors in India. During his Gujarat tenure as a pivotal strategist, the state witnessed the consolidation of cooperative banks and dairy cooperatives under the BJP’s aegis. As a hands-on administrator, Shah garnered first-hand insights into the ground realities and intricacies intrinsic to efficiently running cooperatives. This experiential understanding can be invaluable in framing national policies and regulations that are genuinely aligned with on-the-ground exigencies and challenges.
Strategic Acumen of a Visionary Trailblazer
In the political firmament, Shah is widely portrayed as the ‘Chanakya’ of the BJP. As national president of the party from 2014–2019, he is exalted as the primary architect of the BJP’s historic ascendance to dominance and its stupendous electoral victories across India. This faculty to strategise judiciously, unravel organisational complexities, and harvest desired outcomes will be tremendously beneficial as Shah navigates the labyrinth of regional cooperative politics. His adroit manoeuvring skills will be especially pertinent in states like Maharashtra, where cooperatives possess deep political ramifications.
Bonding with the Grassroots
While cooperatives may seem like prosaic financial and regulatory entities, their fundamental impetus derives from grassroots participation and social dynamics at the village level. Having spearheaded high-octane political crusades across rural India, Amit Shah intrinsically comprehends community mobilisation at the grassroots. This fluency with India’s socio-economic fabric, exposure to bottom-up mobilisation, and human resource management flexibility equip Shah optimally to stimulate greater localisation and boost participation in cooperatives.
Administrative savvy and governance credentials
As Home Minister since 2019, Amit Shah has pioneered several intrepid reforms, including the abrogation of Article 370 in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. His stalwart governance credentials, ability to reconfigure systems quickly, and track record of accomplishments are keystones to his list of strengths. The nascent cooperation ministry aims to furnish a dedicated administrative, legal, and regulatory environment specifically tailored for the cooperative sector. Shah’s validated administrative savvy and reform-oriented approach will be vital to creating this institutional mechanism efficiently. The Modi regime has articulated its vision for the new ministry as ‘Sahkar se Samriddhi’, signifying prosperity through cooperation. This motto succinctly encapsulates how cooperatives must remain central to India’s growth blueprint. Even before assuming office as Minister of Cooperation, Shah proactively sought meetings with apex cooperative entities and leaders to assimilate their perspectives. This demonstrates his sincerity and commitment to the regime’s stated vision of fortifying cooperatives.
Decisive leadership and expeditious implementation
While multiple government enterprises flounder due to slothful progress, Shah has already infused vigorous momentum into the fledgling ministry. Within just 20 months, the ministry has launched over 20 novel schemes and policies aimed at revamping and rationalising cooperative institutions nationally. This exemplifies Shah’s action-oriented leadership credo of swiftly transiting from vision to execution. The swift roll-out of initiatives has augmented confidence among stakeholders regarding the ministry’s earnest intent to induce transformative change.
Inclusion and collaborative doctrine bona fide transformation necessitates taking all stakeholders along and shaping initiatives according to expert input from the field. Aligned with this conviction, Shah has constituted a national-level consultative council encompassing cooperative leaders across tiers to advise the ministry on policy reforms. Additionally, departing from a top-down modus operandi, the ministry focuses on fortifying participation and inclusion at the primary society level, constituting the substratum. This emphasis on collaborative policy-making and grassroots orientation further validates Shah’s reformist pedigree.
Multidimensional Expertise
Shah contributes not just political shrewdness but multidimensional expertise. He has served as Chairman of the Gujarat State Cooperative Bank, helmed the Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank, and been a director on boards of mammoth cooperatives like the Gujarat State Cooperative Marketing Federation. This exposure to managerial and financial facets of cooperatives at both local and state levels equips him with a holistic perspective. He grasps not just localised social dynamics but also the overarching governance, regulatory, and operational challenges.
National outlook and interstate considerations
Many cooperatives, especially in banking and dairy, face encumbrances in expanding beyond their home states due to inconsistent inter-state policies, rules, and political vicissitudes. As a national figure who has augmented the BJP’s footprint across geographical and cultural frontiers, Shah contributes a broader national perspective. His experience can enable the integrated expansion of multi-state cooperatives and facilitate seamless inter-state operations by ironing out disparities between state-level frameworks.
Staunch political patronage
By appointing Shah as Minister of Cooperation, Prime Minister Modi has unambiguously demonstrated the high priority his regime accords to strengthening the cooperative movement. Shah remains one of PM Modi’s closest confidants and most trusted lieutenants. This empowers Shah with the authority requisite to pioneer intrepid reforms in an otherwise politically precarious sector. The PM’s endorsement also reassures diverse stakeholders about the regime’s ironclad commitment to large-scale cooperative reforms.
In summation, there are indeed countless afflictions besieging India’s cooperatives, from archaic practices to conflicts of interest. Transforming this indispensable sector to harness its complete potential will necessitate dynamic leadership coupled with nuanced cognizance of ground exigencies.
Amit Shah’s appointment as Minister of Cooperation may have initially baffled observers. But analysed closely, he emerges as the optimal leader to steward this intricate mission. His grassroots connections, strategic aptitude, political heft, administrative expertise, cooperative exposure, and reformist proclivities make him the consummate candidate to resuscitate and reinforce India’s cooperatives. Of course, tangible outcomes will be the ultimate yardstick. However, the progress under Shah’s aegis over the past 20 months inspires confidence. By appointing Shah to helm the pivotal cooperation ministry, the Modi regime has made a prudent move that could profoundly impact India’s socio-economic canvas.
Yuvraj Pokharna is an independent journalist and columnist. He tweets with @iyuvrajpokharna. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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