Cooperatives are crucial for India’s socio-economic development, but they are marred by politicization, bureaucratization, and lack of professionalism. This document emphasizes the need for a clean-up of the existing mess in cooperatives before any further help is provided. It highlights the constitutional rights under Article 19(1)(c) to form cooperatives and discusses the restrictive laws that have stymied their growth. The presentation advocates for depoliticizing, debureaucratizing, democratizing, and professionalizing cooperatives based on the recommendations of various committees and task forces over the decades.