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Synopsis In India co-operatives have been assigned a very significant role in the task of rural development particularly in eradicating poverty and unemployment. Today co-operatives are one of the most widely distributed institutions as they have been set up at the grass root levels in every book and corner of the country. It has covered 93 per cent of the villages and 40 per cent of our population. But the co-operative movement in India has not succeeded in realizing its objective of acting as an effective agency of rural development. Co-operation in India is still nourished by the government. It has yet to stand on its own feet. In Assam too, the various types of co-operatives that are in existence have to depend on the government patronage. The present work which is a politico-economic study of the co-operatives, based on an empirical method, analyses the role of Gaon Panchayat level co-operative societies in rural development of Assam. The author attempts to unfold the leadership pattern in the village co-operatives, examine the extent of politicization and vested interests that have crept into these institutions, identify the factors inhibiting its growth and development and suggest measures for revitalizing the co-operative institutions in the country. The book is likely to prove highly useful to the researchers, academics and policy makers.