Utterly, Butterly, Verghesious.……Amul!

Written by- Adriana Kashyap

Edited by- Ananya Julka

Let me tell you a story, a story about a man who changed the dynamics of dairy production in our country. A man - who is better known as the Milk Man of India!

"I Too Had a Dream" -book by V. Kurien published in 2005

The man who penned the autobiography, “I too had a dream”, Verghese Kurien was born and brought up in a Syrian Christian family in Kozhikode, Kerala. An engineer by profession, Mr. Kurien completed his education in USA and returned to India. Till that time, no one had any idea that this man’s life and with that, the country’s history was going to take a giant leap in a short period of time!

It was the year 1949. The Government of India had sent Mr. Kurien to join its creamery in Anand, Bombay Province on a salary of Rs 600 per month. Mr. Kurien was not very interested in the job and wanted to leave the place as soon as possible. But destiny had other plans for him. During his stay in Anand, he became concerned with the poor conditions under which farmers lived in Anand. They were exploited by the company called Polson Dairy which was under the control of a shrewd businessman, Pestonjee Edulji. This company had made a pact with the government according to which the farmers were not allowed to sell their milk anywhere else other than to the company. This gave him monopoly over the farmers and thus paid them very less.

Polson Dairy had a monopoly when Kurien arrived Anand

Tribhuvandas Patel was the leader of the farmers and was trying to organize them into a cooperative. V V Kurien was inspired by Mr. Patel and together they carried the cooperative movement ahead which finally led to the establishment of Amul. Amul was earlier known as Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Ltd (KDCMPUL).

V. Kurien with Tribhuvandas Patel and H.M. Dalaya also called the AMUL Trinity

Once Lal Bahadur Shastri, then Prime Minister of India visited Anand and pleased with all the work, asked Mr. Kurien to replicate the same model for the whole of India. With this,the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) was established in 1965 with Kurien as the head. After a lot of efforts, a revolution was launched in 1970 which changed the status of India from a country which lagged behind in milk production to the World’s largest milk producer. The revolution was carried out in two phases and came to be known as the White Revolution and the rest is history.

V.Kurien with Lal Bahadur Shastri in Anand

Mr. Kurien was applauded throughout his career with many honorary doctorate degrees, fellowships and awards including National awards like the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Padmashree and International awards like the World Food Prize in 1989, Carnegie Foundation’s Wateler Peace Prize in 1986 and many more.

Kurien’s main contribution has been establishment of institutions and systems that enabled many farmers to take charge of their own development. He revolutionised dairy production in India by endowing the system with autocracy. He strongly stood against the exploitation of farmers and believed that they were the greatest assets for the country. He didn’t view them as manufacturing units, but as people. AMUL had the power to humanize everyone associated with its brand. This became their greatest strength enabling them to reach phenomenal heights. Whether it be through its farmer-driven approach, its versatile products or its people-driven marketing strategy, AMUL has proven that respecting people goes a long way. Summed up in the words of Mr. Kurien-

“The tragedy of India is that we frequently have no respect for Indians, for Indian efforts and for Indian successes”

(Source- I Too Had a Dream)