INTRODUCTION
Cooperation means working together. The principle of cooperation is as old as human Society. It is truly the basis of domestic and social life. Cooperative effort is ultimately the group instinct in man, which enables him to live together and help each other in times of stress and strain. Unconsciously, the principle has always penetrated the life of human race. The history of modern civilization is in fact, the history of cooperation, for without it social and economic progress would have been impossible.
In the primitive societies the germs of cooperation could be observed in religious institutions and traditional customs. The working of these customs and institutions throw light on the instinct and tradition of mutual assistance, joint possession and joint management, which are found in the thinking and in the life of the people in all ages and all countries. In India, for instance, the principle of cooperation has been practiced from times immemorial. The spirit of village communities of India was almost entirely cooperative.
In the modern technical sense the genesis of cooperative movement and its applications in the economic field can be traced after the industrial revolution which took place in England during the second half of eighteenth and the first half of the nineteenth century. Today, cooperatives are the most important type of voluntary organization throughout the world. In some countries, they are principal form of organization in agriculture, marketing and provision of credit and distribution of consumer goods.
On an overall assessment, it can be concluded that cooperatives are rendering fruitful services to the society concerned especially to women. The survey reveals that the women are able to enrich their lives. They are fully satisfied with services rendered by these cooperative societies. They got recognition in the society and also economic interdependence in the family. Hence, it is needless to say that cooperatives are playing a very important role in the empowerment of women through various schemes.
Concept
In the primitive societies the germs of cooperation could be observed in religious institutions and traditional customs. The working of these customs and institutions throw light on the instinct and tradition of mutual assistance, joint possession and joint management, which are found in the thinking and in the life of the people in all ages and all countries. In India, for instance, the principle of cooperation has been practiced from times immemorial. The spirit of village communities of India was almost entirely cooperative. The villages have throughout the ages worked together on an informal corporate basis with regard to their religious and social and cultural life.