Verghese Kurien – The man with the Midas touch
Dr. Kurien- “A good man, good manager, good leader”
He was born on 26 November 1921 at Kozhikode, Kerala. He was best known for “Father of White Revolution”. He was a chairman of National Diary Development Board (NDDB) from 1965 to 1998 which was created by PM LalBahadur Shastri in 1964. Under his leadership he launched a mission called “Operation Flood”. He was honored with Padma Vibhusham.
The Taste of India:
AMUL (Anand Milk Union Ltd.) founded in 1946 at Anand, Gujarat, India by Dr. Kurien and managed by Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF). Its main objective is stopping exploitation of middle man. It not only brings wealth to farmers and also brought a social impact and revolution by empowering women, reducing caste and religious differences. The Amul model has helped India to emerge as the largest milk producer in the world. More than 15 million milk producers pour their milk in 1,44,246 dairy cooperative societies across the country. Their milk is processed in 177 District Co-operative Unions and marketed by 22 State Marketing Federations, ensuring a better life for millions. When milk became available in plenty, he diversified the product by converting milk to milk powder. And he developed a unique system of training good dairy managers through the organization of Siksha Dairy at the Anand Agricultural University, which was designed to give training in all aspects of the dairy industry from milking the animals to processing, value-addition and marketing.

Operation Flood:
Started in 1970 and came in to enforce in 1996, it was one of the world’s largest rural development programs under the guidance of Dr. Kurien. It emerges the world’s largest milk producing nation in the world. The dairy cooperative movement has also encouraged Indian dairy farmers to keep more animals, which has resulted in the 500 million cattle & buffalo population in the country – the largest in the World. The dairy cooperative movement has spread across the length and breadth of the country, covering more than 125,000 villages of 180 Districts in 22 States.
He thought that the country was in need of good managers who would serve for the needs of rural farmers. So, he established the Institute of Rural Management (IRMA) at Anand, Gujarat. This institution provides management training and research support to rural cooperatives. He was the chairman of IRMA from 1979 to 2005.
One of the senior manager in GCMMF asked him that “Why have you built IRMA, when there are so many management schools?” He replied “India doesn’t need one Kurien, it needs hundreds. I have built IRMA to produce Kurien’s.”He was also setting up the Tribhuvandas Foundation, a charitable trust, which extends preventive, maternal and infant health care facilities to villages.

“I too had a dream”, it was a book written by Gouri Salvi a journalist about the story of Verghese Kurien and how he set up the Gujarat milk cooperatives which was published in 2005. The book starts with Kurien’s childhood and also tells how Kurien’s tremendous success in creating dairy cooperatives led to efforts to create similar structures for oil seed, and fruit and vegetables. One of the most powerful messages of this book is how a real democracy can function with things are run by real people.
RIP to Kurien:
Dr. Verghese Kurien is no more. On early morning of 8th September, he died at the age of 91 at Anand, Gujarat. AMUL is not only a Taste of India; it’s as a Brand of India. Today consumers and farmers will remember the man who created the Brand of India.