ABSTRACT
Kolhapur district has many examples of successful and innovative cooperatives. In his previous studies, the author has shown that sugar co-ops in Maharashtra are intimately connected with local and state politics, and that political rivalries put restraints on corruption and mismanagement. Corrupt leaders run a serious risk of being voted out of office, due to intense competition by other leaders.
Yet recent events in leading cooperatives have given rise to fears concerning corruption and autocratic leadership. Some elected leaders have remained chairmen for decades, suggesting that they may exercise autocratic control over their organizations. In some cases, their rivals have accused these leaders of unethical behavior. Partly as a result of these complaints, the government has recently passed a law limiting the number of years that any one leader can stay in office in a major cooperative.
This chapter profiles several innovative leaders who established such cooperatives, made them successful, and will now be forced to give up control. The question is raised whether it makes sense to forcibly unseat those who were responsible for the founding and success of these institutions in the first place. Arguments for and against the new law are considered, bearing in mind this fundamental question: Under what circumstances, if any, should the state seek to overturn or block decisions made democratically by the members of a cooperative?
