National Milk Day: Remembering Dr Verghese Kurien on his 100th birth anniversary

Dr Verghese Kurien was the brain behind the much-loved dairy brand Amul, and consequently behind the 'Operation Flood' that turned the tables for India in the dairy economy. November 26 is celebrated as National Milk Day to mark Dr. Kurien's birth anniversary. This year, as the nation celebrates his 100th birth anniversary, ETV Bharat offers a glimpse into his life and contributions to the country.

Hyderabad:Known as the 'Milkman of India', Dr Verghese Kurien was the brain behind the much-loved dairy brand in India - Amul. He also played a prominent role in bringing about White Revolution in India and turning it from a milk deficient country to the largest producer of milk in the world today. November 26, 2021, marks 100th birth anniversary of this engineer-turned-businessman who changed the face of dairy production in India.

Dr Verghese Kurien was born on November 26, 1921, to an affluent Syrian Christian family in today's Kozhikode in Kerala. His father was a civil surgeon, while his mother was also a highly educated woman. He was a multi-faceted kid with interest in several sports, especially boxing. He was also a military cadet and wanted to join the military as an engineer.

He joined the Loyola College in Madras and attained his degree in B.Sc in Physics from there in the year 1940. He completed his graduation at a surprisingly young age of just 14. After that, he went to the United States of America on a government scholarship to pursue Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He returned to India after completion of his studies in 1949 and headed for Anand, a place in Kaira district of Gujarat, where he was supposed to spend five years as an officer of the Dairy division in return for the scholarship paid by the government.

Dr. Verghese Kurien on his 100th birth anniversary

On arriving at Anand, he found that the farmers there were being exploited by the distributors of milk and the entire region was controlled by a shrewd but clever businessman known as Pestonjee Edulji who marketed Polson butter. Looking at the struggle of the people and the genuine efforts of their leader Tribhuvandas Patel who was trying to unite the farmers and form a cooperative movement against the exploitation, Dr. Kurien left his government job and joined forces with Patel and the farmers to start the Milk Cooperative movement. Back then, the region was registered under the name of Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Ltd (KDCMPUL), which was later renamed to now popular 'Amul'. Initially, the name of the cooperative was 'Amulya', which is a Sanskrit word meaning priceless. However, it was later changed to AMUL - Anand Milk Union Limited.

After that, Dr Verghese worked towards bringing a White Revolution in India and executed the much needed programme of 'Operation Flood'. Under his inspiring leadership, many important institutions were established namely the GCMMF (Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd) and NDDB (National Dairy Development Board), which played a significant role in shaping the Dairy Cooperative movement across the country and led the replication of Anand model of cooperative dairy practiced all over the country.

Dr. Verghese Kurien on his 100th birth anniversary

Dr Kurien always regarded himself as an employee of the farmers who would do anything to bring prosperity in their favour. In his service of over fifty years, he attained 15 honorary degrees from different institutions of the world as he believed that learning should never stop. His birthday, November 26, is now celebrated as National Milk Day.

For such significant contribution to both society and economy in the country, Dr Kurien was bestowed with several honours. Some of the noteworthy awards that he received include the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership (1963), Padma Shri (1965), Padma Bhushan (1966), Krishi Ratna Award (1986), World Food prize (1989), Padma Vibhushan (1999) and Economic Times award for Corporate Excellence (2001) among others. Dr Kurien inspired a number of people to go on about their own initiatives and also became the muse for a number of books and movies.

He breathed his last on September 9, 2012 in Anand, due to a brief illness. He left a legacy behind in the form of the inspiration he gave the people and Amul - a brand that has reached every nook and corner of India today.