सहकारी
Introduction
Sahakari (सहकारी, "Cooperatives") is an essay (प्रबन्ध) chapter in the Class 12 Nepali course. It explains what a cooperative is, where the idea came from, the principles that guide it, and why the cooperative movement is essential for the economic prosperity of a developing country like Nepal.
Summary
A cooperative is a common institution established jointly by people who work together, with the aim of mutual help for economic prosperity and development. Although the modern concept of the cooperative is considered to have come from Britain in the first half of the nineteenth century (1844), the essay points out that its spirit is ancient in Nepal: the collective lifestyle of our ancestors (guthi, parma, aicho-paicho (mutual lending), sarsapat and melpat) is the main foundation of Nepali culture, and Eastern thought had long taught that living, travelling and working together is necessary for human happiness and prosperity.
The International Cooperative Alliance later codified the movement's guiding principles: voluntary and open membership, democratic control by members, economic participation, autonomy and independence, mutual cooperation among cooperatives, concern for the community, and education, training and information. The movement's main slogan expresses its essence: self-reliance for freedom, mutuality for prosperity, and cooperation for both. Recognizing cooperatives as a pillar of economic, social and cultural development, the United Nations has advised every country to establish and operate them. For people of small means the cooperative is ideal: as the proverb says, "एक थुकी सुकी, सय थुकी नदी": drop by drop, a river is formed.
For Nepal, the essay argues, cooperatives are a necessity, not a luxury. Nearly thirty thousand cooperatives already operate in the country, but not yet in every sector. If cooperatives were run effectively in water resources, agriculture, animal husbandry, forests, health, education, tourism, communications, finance, energy and herbs, they could mobilize the capital, talent and technology scattered among the people, create employment at home and end the compulsion of millions of young people to go abroad, reduce dependence on others, build a self-reliant culture, strengthen the national economy, and help make Nepal one of the most prosperous and happy countries in the world.
Theme
The essay's central idea is that cooperation is the path to shared prosperity. Rooted in Nepal's own tradition of mutual help, the cooperative movement can make individuals self-reliant and the nation developed, proving that small savings and small hands, joined together, can build a mighty economy.