National Milk Day: Recalling Verghese Kurien’s role in pioneering the white revolution

Honoring Dr. Verghese Kurien, the visionary Father of the White Revolution, who transformed India into the largest milk producer in the world. Let’s celebrate his legacy and the power of dairy in nourishing the nation!#NationalMilkDay #WhiteRevolution #DrKurien #DairyPride pic.twitter.com/ZcitCxuTpB

— Dept of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Min of FAH&D (@Dept_of_AHD) November 26, 2024

Who was Dr Verghese Kurien?

Born in Kozhikode, Kerala on November 26, 1921, Kurien obtained degrees in physics in 1940 and mechanical engineering in 1943, intending to join the Indian Army as an engineer.

However, he then secured a scholarship from the Government of India to pursue dairy engineering and trained at the Imperial Institute of Animal Husbandry (now the National Dairy Research Institute) in Bengaluru. He completed his master’s in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in dairy engineering from Michigan State University in 1948.

In May 1949, Kurien began his government-mandated assignment at an experimental government creamery in Anand, Gujarat, hoping to leave after his bond period ended. While there, he developed a friendship with Tribhuvandas Patel, then the Chairman of the Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers Union. From 1945-46, Patel led the effort for dairy farmers in the region to unionise and combat the exploitation by Polson, a dairy company that monopolised milk collection.

At Patel’s insistence, Kurien took charge as an engineer to look after the cooperative’s machines. With time, he took an active interest in the daily operations of the union and the farmers, eventually becoming its general manager.

Under Kurien’s leadership, the cooperative expanded its capacity and acquired equipment to process and store dairy products. Thus, it was able to expand its milk supply to previously underserved areas of the country, which relied on imported milk powder. More importantly, the collective established a direct link between the producers and consumers.

The cooperative would be renamed the Anand Milk Union Limited or Amul, and began marketing its products under the Amul brand. This model of dairy milk cooperatives proved to be wildly successful and others soon followed suit. Kurien and Patel, along with Dara Khurody – who had established the Aarey Milk Colony in Bombay, which provided pasteurising and distribution facilities for the milk from Anand – were awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 1963.

From Amul to Operation Flood

Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri’s 1964 visit to Anand to inaugurate Amul’s cattle feed plant set the ball rolling with his endorsement of the Amul model. A year later, Kurien became the inaugural chair of the National Dairy Development Board based in Anand.

As NDDB head, Kurien oversaw the launch of Operation Flood in January 1970. The programme aimed at increasing milk production, while minimising price fluctuations and empowering dairy farmers by expanding the cooperative movement. The programme achieved this in three phases and saw India’s milk production nearly triple, from about 21.2 million tonnes in 1968–69 to more than 55.6 million tonnes in 1991–92.

Kurien also oversaw the establishment of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Limited in 1973, which owns the Amul brand, and founded the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) in 1979.