Sah Bharati: Thakur elected President; vows to end poverty thru’ PACS

Dinanath Thakur, popularly known as “Thakur Saheb” in cooperative circles has been elevated to the position of President of Sahakar Bharati during the three-day National Conference of the co-op body in Lucknow.

Talking to Indian Cooperative soon after his elevation Thakur said poverty and unemployment could be pushed into the dustbin only if we strengthened PACS and ignited the co-op movement at the village level. Excited with the emphasis on PACS by the new ministry led by Amit Shah, Thakur says “There cannot be poverty in a country where the cooperative movement is robust. It is a distinct form of business enterprise and I can easily see each PACS capable of employing at least 10 persons full time”.

Among other changes, Sahakar Bharati, which carries out structural changes every third year during the national conference, has retained Dr. Uday Vasudev Joshi and Sanjay Pachpor as National General Secretary and Organizational Secretary respectively.

Changes were also executed in the UP chapter with Etah Consumer Cooperative Store Chairman Narendra Upadhaya being made the President of UP Sahakar Bharati. Pravin Jadoun has been re-elected as the State General Secretary.

Thakur, who held an important position in the agriculture ministry for a number of years, finally took VRS from NCDC’s Deputy MD’s post to join Sahakar Bharati as its Vice-President a couple of years ago.

Ever since he took VRS from the govt, Thakur had been restless to give shape to his idea of a successful cooperative. As the vice president of Sahakar Bharati, he undertook journeys across states building the rudiments of a co-op structure. “Leaders mostly do not understand the strength of cooperative and bureaucrats do not understand its spirit”, said Thakur explaining why he decided to take a plunge with Sahakar Bharati.

A man with a clarity of vision, D N Thakur is respected across the board for his contributions to the cooperative sector. Known as a protégé of former Union Minister Radha Mohan Singh, Thakur’s elevation to the top slot in Sahakar Bharati has come as a surprise for many in the organization.

Thakur brings to the table a huge store of experience in the cooperative sector, having worked for a number of years in the ministry of agriculture and cooperation. “It was during his tenure that a record number of co-ops were accorded multi-state status”, recall cooperators.

There are more than 30 crore people associated with cooperatives in one way or the other and we need to enlist at least 10 crores of them into Sahakar Bharati, said Thakur. Placing membership drive as his top agenda Thakur said that for a country like India largely dependent on the agrarian economy, a healthy cooperative structure is a key to success.

Cooperators cutting across party lines have hailed Thakur’s elevation, calling him an asset for the movement. Indian Cooperative also joins others in wishing him success in his new assignment!

Sahakar Bharti National Office-Bearers – 2021-2024

Patron – Mr. Ramesh Vaidya, Karnataka

National President- D.N Thakur

Vice President – Mr. Prasant Bajjar Barua Guwahati, Assam, CA Keshav Harodia, Dhanbad Jharkhand, Krishna Redai Karnataka

National General Secretary- Uday Joshi

National Organizing Secretary- Sanjay Pachpor