Cooperative Vs Cooperation

I am a sponsored candidate in IRMA by our organization Mehsana District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union Limited, Dudhsagar Dairy, Mehsana where I have been working from last more than 4 years. A couple of days ago Mr. Jagdish Rao (PRM-05 and CEO-FES) has told in a seminar that there is difference between "Cooperative" and "Cooperation", in its literal meaning which I realize true as per my observation and understanding. During my tenure at Dudhsagar Dairy I have come across several instances where I was forced to think that what I have studied and heard about successful cooperation in Milk Cooperatives in Gujarat, is not so in the present scenario. In Gujarat, Milk cooperatives are the ideal example of Cooperation, where mostly marginal and landless farmers, whose main livelihood was livestock, did collective action to get proper remuneration of milk, irrespective of any discrimination among them and without government intervention. The farmers themselves have been working in the Production Unit of the Dudhsagar Dairy as worker, supervisor and even production officer and managers besides giving milk to dairy cooperatives as input. So, all resources came from farmers which set the history of great success of collective action and cooperation.

Now-a-days less cooperation seems in their action, no doubt still cooperation is existed but they are less concerned with the overall growth of organization rather more interested in the personnel benefits. One thing which is in the mind of particularly old age employees and generally of all local employees, who are mostly workers and supervisors, that they have worked hard, which is even a hardcore truth and non-negligible, so why the new person will get higher salary and incentives who are coming either from other state at higher level (Officer/Manager), with higher education concerned with the Dairy operations, or even local person from other community and/or part of the state.

In present open economic scenario, all countries have become a part of global family where person/organization from any country can go and work in any other country. Also, who excels in the particular field gets the maximum benefits. So the thinking of regionalism and casteism puts a barrier to collective action and cooperation. If any person has been repeatedly realized about above mentioned issues then how can he develop an affinity to cooperative organization and a feeling of cooperation and its success?

In the above case, I have developed a way to get acquainted with the local Gujarati language in reading, understanding, speaking and writing as well as with local culture. I use to attend all the functions and ceremonies of all employees of my department. It develop a feeling of ownness among them. But if any other person who could not do such or it is very tuff for him to totally adapt the local culture, then he could not be a part and contributor of successful cooperation. He would be either a liabilities or try to apart from the thinking of cooperation and be a part of corporate world.

Other thing that is harming the cooperation is the politics which is earlier supposedly banned to enter in the cooperatives. Politicization as such is not harming but many a persons who seeks benefits through this system are harming the ideology of cooperation and ultimately to the organization as a whole.

So I think that globalization and politics should be associated and managed with cooperation in such a manner that it would be advantageous for cooperatives as well as cooperation and again set an example to rest of the world.