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Chronology of the cooperative history

1498- Established in 1498 – six years after Columbus discovered America – The Shore Porters Society began as a group of porters, or ‘Pynours’ who worked at Aberdeen Harbour, in Scotland and formed, for their mutual protection, what must be one of the oldest co-operatives in existence (although it has since demutualized to become a private partnership)

1761- The first consumer cooperative was founded in a barely-furnished cottage in Fenwick, East Ayrshire, when local weavers manhandled a sack of oatmeal into John Walker's whitewashed front room and began selling the contents at a discount, forming the Fenwick Weavers' Society.

1771-1858- Robert Owen was considered to be the father of the cooperative movement, he had the idea of forming "villages of co-operation" where workers would drag themselves out of poverty by growing their own food, making their own clothes and ultimately becoming self-governing. He tried to form such communities in Orbiston in Scotland and in New Harmony, Indiana in the United States of America, but both communities failed.

1828- Robert Owen had taken his ideas of a co-operative movement to the United States. But they were picked up and amplified by Dr.William King. King founded a cooperative store in Brighton. Then in 1828 he started a paper, The Co-operator[1]to promote these ideas. The co-operator had a wide circulation and a great influence in the emerging movement. His ideas or more reasonable and had widespread acceptance than Rober Owne’s.

1832- In France Charles Fourier, a commercial clerk, published his main work, a Treatise on Domestic Agricultural Association. This could be one of the first works on co-operation

1844- The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers was a group of 28 weavers and other artisans in Rochdale found a society. As the mechanization of the Industrial Revolution was forcing more and more skilled workers into poverty, these tradesmen decided to band together to open their own store selling food items they could not otherwise afford. With lessons from prior failed attempts at co-operation in mind, they designed the now famous Rochdale Principles, and over a period of four months they struggled to pool together one pound sterling per person for a total of 28 pounds of capital. On December 21, 1844, they opened their store with a very meager selection of butter, sugar, flour, oatmeal and a few candles. Within three months, they expanded their selection to include tea and tobacco, and they were soon known for providing high quality, unadulterated goods.

1848- Raiffeisen, a famous German pioneer founded a society at Weyervush in Germany for distributing potatoes and to breads to the poor at Cheap rates, this could be the first cooperative society in the world history.

1849- Raiffeisen started a loan society for helping small farmers

1859- Schulze-Delitzsch (1808-1883) was the apostle of urban credit co-operatives and co-operatives in handicrafts; he promoted the first Genossenschaftstag, a co-operative meeting, in Weimar, and founded a central bureau of co-operative societies.

1862- Raiffeisen started society at Anhausen in Germany which regarded as the forerunner of the present village bank

1865- Senor Luzzatti statered first cooperative bank in Italy

1889- German government framed rule to collect shares and the payment of dividends

1895- International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) established and held the first international congress in London

1966- Co-operative principles revised by the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), with a view to making them more relevant to a wider variety of fast-growing co-operatives throughout the world. CWS appointed its first 'outsider' chief executive Philip Thomas

Chronology of the cooperative history of India

1882- Sir William Wedderburn and JusticeM.G.Ranade inspired by the successful efforts of Raiffeisen submitted proposal to the Government to start cooperative credit societies, unfortunately the proposal was rejected

1892- Sir Frederik Nicholson was deputed to Europe by Lord Wenlock of the Governemnt of Madras to study the credit institutions of the country and to suggest suitable rural credit system for India. His conclusions were summed up as “find Raiffeisen” and forwarded to Central Government. Meanwhile Mr.Dupernex recommedne land banks in North India.

1901- Famine commission recommended formation of mutual credot institutions. A strong committee under Sir Edward Law was appointed to go through the above recommendations.

1904- Basd on the recommendations of the Sir Edwards Law committee with the support of the Lord Curzon, Sir D. Ibbeston introduced cooperative credit societies act of 1904.

1904- First cooperative credit society of India was established in Tirur Village of present day Thiruvallur district of TamilNadu, in the same year first Cooperative urban bank of India was formed at Kanchipuram and in the same year first consumer cooperative society of India namely “Triplicane Urban Cooperative Society(TUCS)” was established.

1912- Enactment of Cooperative societies Act II, to answer the growing needs of the fast developing number of cooperative’s in India. This act gave recognition to the non credit societies and paved way for forming Central cooperative Institutions.

1927- Madras Government appointed a committee presided over by Mr.Townsend to examine the progress made by the cooperatives in the province and the lines of future development. This committee recommended suitable legislation to rectify the defects in the actual working of the Act II of 1912.

1934- As per the another recommendations of the Townsend committee, the Madras Cooperative land Mortgage Banks Act was enacted which enabled the state Government to guarantee the debentures of this bank and summary powers to recover over dues in land mortgage banks.

1939- Problem of repaying capacity of the borrowers of the societies was become a major issue to cooperative due to the great depression of 1930s. To examine the problem with which the movement was confronted the Madras Government appointed a committee in the year with Sir.T.Viyaragavachariyar as Chairman. Several recommendations of the committee was implemented

1961- Government of India appointed a committee under the chairmanship of Sri.S.T.Raja, Joint Secretary, Ministry of food and Agriculture to review the existing cooperative legislations and recommend simple legislative measures to generally suited to the whole country to facilitate coordinated development of the movement in the light of the recommendations of the Rural Credit Survey Committee of 1951. The Raja committee’s suggested model co-operative society’s bill and model rules. Some of the provisions of the model bill incorporated in the amended Act namely, Madras Cooperative societies Act 1961.

1983- Enactment of Tamilnadu Cooperative societies Act 1983, which superseded the Tamilnadu Cooperative Land Development Act 1934 and Tamilnadu Cooperative societies act 1961.

1988- Commencement of the operations of the 1983 Act, rules comes in to force.

1991- Planning commission setup a commission under the leadership of Sri. Choudhary Brahm Perkash to study the functioning of cooperatives. This Commission presented a model Cooperative Act in 1991. The Central Government circulated this model Act to all states with an advice to incorporate the same as it ensures more power to the members, more member participation and less government intervention in the affairs of the Cooperatives. The self regulatory mechanism is advised. Several states enacted their own acts based on the model act.

2002- Enactment of Multistate cooperative societies act with major changes in the provisions of the earlier act. The powers of the state government over the multi state societies were removed.