In the wake of freedom India's tryst with cooperatives / by L. C. Jain and Karen Coelho

The impulses of the freedom movement gave birth to many initiatives and institutions in the post Independence era, all too eager to consolidate free dom and build a new India. The Indian Cooperative Union (ICU) was one such institution born in 1948, led by Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya.

The ICU pioneered many self-help endeavours among the landless agricultural workers and small farmers, raising of the Faridabad township by 50,000 refugee settlers from the North-West Frontier Prov ince, development of Central Cottage Industries Emporium for providing inter-state and export mar kets for artisans in handicrafts and handlooms. development of Super Bazaar-cooperative store in consumers interest.

As at the grassroots level, the ICU was also in the forefront of advocacy of cooperative principles and policy to influence India's approach towards people-led development sustained by democratic decentralization. The book here includes the ICU's well-researched treatise on Cooperative Principles and their relevance to India's socio-economic goals, Cooperative Farming, Rural Credit, Cooperative Law, Community Development and Development of Handicrafts.

Forty years ago, the ICU also foresaw the need

for voluntary organizations in India uniting to

gether and helped to setup the Association of

Voluntary Agencies for Rural Development

(AVARD).

This book recalls ICU's contribution especially in the immediate post-independence period and highlight to the enhanced relevance of cooperatives today.