Celebrating the 100th Birth Anniversary of the Milkman of India!

 

BIOGRAPHY - Dr. Verghese Kurien

Biography 

Dr. Verghese Kurien was born on November 26, 1921 to an affluent Syrian Christian family in Calicut (now Kozhikode), Kerala. His father Puthenparakkal Kurien was a civil surgeon in British Cochin and his mother was a highly educated woman as well an exceptional piano player. He was named after his uncle Rao Sahib P.K Verghese. Dr Kurien joined Loyola College in Madras and attained his degree in B.Sc in Physics. He was also very active in sports and represented the college in cricket, badminton, boxing and tennis. He went to the United States of America on government scholarship where he pursued his degree in Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (Distinction). He returned to India after completion of his studies and on May 13, 1949 he 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. On arriving at Anand, he found that the farmers were being exploited by the distributors of milk and the entire region was controlled by a shrewd but clever businessman called as "Pestonjee Edulji" who marketed Polson butter.

Looking at the struggle of these people to survive and mesmerized by the personality 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 Tribhuvandas Patel and the farmers to start the Milk Cooperative movement in the region registered under the name of Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Ltd (KDCMPUL), which was later renamed to now popular "Amul". He worked towards bringing a White Revolution in India and executed the much needed programme of "Operation Flood". Dr. Verghese Kurien married Susan Molly Peter on June 15, 1953 and they had one daughter Nirmala Kurien and a grandson, Siddharth. Dr. Kurein was the man responsible for turning India from a milk deficient country to the largest producer of milk in the world today. 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. Kurien always regarded himself as an employee of the farmers who would do anything to bring prosperity in their favor.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 enduring personality, spirit, undying charisma and conviction of turning the impossible into possible won him many accolades such as 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), Economic Times award for Corporate Excellence (2001) and several other awards, but the best award that the people of the country gave him was the title "Milkman of India". After a lifetime of struggle and conviction towards serving the nation Dr. Verghese Kurien breathe his last on 9 September 2012 due to brief illness at Anand. Dr. Verghese Kurien will always be remembered as the person who redefined the meaning of milk as a powerful tool for economic development.

About Dr. Kurien

 

About Dr. Kurien

  

Dr. Verghese Kurien was born on November 26, 1921 to an affluent Syrian Christian family in Calicut (now Kozhikode), Kerala. His father Puthenparakkal Kurien was a civil surgeon in British Cochin and his mother was a highly educated woman as well an exceptional piano player. He was named after his uncle Rao Sahib P.K Verghese. Dr Kurien joined Loyola College in Madras and attained his degree in B.Sc in Physics. He was also very active in sports and represented the college in cricket, badminton, boxing and tennis. He went to the United States of America on government scholarship where he pursued his degree in Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (Distinction). He returned to India after completion of his studies and on May 13, 1949 he 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. On arriving at Anand, he found that the farmers were being exploited by the distributors of milk and the entire region was controlled by a shrewd but clever businessman called as "Pestonjee Edulji" who marketed Polson butter. Looking at the struggle of these people to survive and mesmerized by the personality 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 Tribhuvandas Patel and the farmers to start the Milk Cooperative movement in the region registered under the name of Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Ltd (KDCMPUL), which was later renamed to now popular "Amul". He worked towards bringing a White Revolution in India and executed the much needed programme of "Operation Flood". Dr. Verghese Kurien married Susan Molly Peter on June 15, 1953. The couple was blessed with a daughter Nirmala Kurien and later a grandson, Siddharth. Dr. Kurein was the man responsible for turning India from a milk deficient country to the largest producer of milk in the world today. 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. Kurien always regarded himself as an employee of the farmers who would do anything to bring prosperity in their favor.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 enduring personality, spirit, undying charisma and conviction of turning the impossible into possible won him many accolades such as 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), Economic Times award for Corporate Excellence (2001) and several other awards, but the best award that the people of the country gave him was the title "Milkman of India". After a lifetime of struggle and conviction towards serving the nation Dr. Verghese Kurien breathe his last on 9 September 2012 due to brief illness at Anand. His cremation rituals were performed by his grandson Siddharth. Dr. Verghese Kurien will always be remembered as the person who redefined the meaning of milk as a powerful tool for economic development.

Education

• Bachelor of Science from Madras University (1940)
• Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Honours) from Madras University (1943)
• Graduate of the Tata Iron and Steel Company Technical Institute, Jamshedpur (1946)
• Master of Science of Mechanical Engineering (Distinction) from Michigan State University (1948)
• Specialised training in Dairying at the National Dairy Research Institute, Bangalore

Honorary Degrees (partial list)

• Doctor of Science, Michigan State University, USA (1965)
• Doctor of Laws, University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK (1974)
• Doctor of Science, Acadia University, Canada (1985)
• Doctor of Humane Letters, Ottawa University, Canada (1985)
• Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) from Anna University, Madras (1988)
• Doctor of Public Service (DPS) from the University of New England, Australia (1989)
• Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) from University of Guelph, Canada (1991)
• Doctor of Science from Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidya Nagar (1992)
• Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris Causa) from Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University, Hyderabad (1996)
• Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris Causa) from Gujarat Agricultural University, Anand (1996)
• Honorary Doctor of Agricultural Sciences by Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (1997)
• Honorary Doctor of Science by The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (1997)
• Doctor of Social Sciences (Honoris Causa) from the University of Roorkee (2000)
• Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) from the Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur (2000)
• Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa), from the Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University (Mar. 12, 2005)

Dr Kurien - The Milk Man of India 1921 - 2012

Dr. V. Kurien - Biography

The Milk Man of India  

1921-2012

Dr. Verghese Kurien was born on November 26, 1921 to an affluent Syrian Christian family in Calicut (now Kozhikode), Kerala. His father Puthenparakkal Kurien was a civil surgeon in British Cochin and his mother was a highly educated woman as well an exceptional piano player. He was named after his uncle Rao Sahib P.K Verghese. Dr Kurien joined Loyola College in Madras and attained his degree in B.Sc in Physics. He was also very active in sports and represented the college in cricket, badminton, boxing and tennis. He went to the United States of America on government scholarship where he pursued his degree in Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (Distinction). He returned to India after completion of his studies and on May 13, 1949 he 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. On arriving at Anand, he found that the farmers were being exploited by the distributors of milk and the entire region was controlled by a shrewd but clever businessman called as "Pestonjee Edulji" who marketed Polson butter.

Looking at the struggle of these people to survive and mesmerized by the personality 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 Tribhuvandas Patel and the farmers to start the Milk Cooperative movement in the region registered under the name of Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Ltd (KDCMPUL), which was later renamed to now popular "Amul". He worked towards bringing a White Revolution in India and executed the much needed programme of "Operation Flood". Dr. Verghese Kurien married Susan Molly Peter on June 15, 1953 and they had one daughter Nirmala Kurien and a grandson, Siddharth. Dr. Kurein was the man responsible for turning India from a milk deficient country to the largest producer of milk in the world today. 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. Kurien always regarded himself as an employee of the farmers who would do anything to bring prosperity in their favor.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 enduring personality, spirit, undying charisma and conviction of turning the impossible into possible won him many accolades such as 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), Economic Times award for Corporate Excellence (2001) and several other awards, but the best award that the people of the country gave him was the title "Milkman of India". After a lifetime of struggle and conviction towards serving the nation Dr. Verghese Kurien breathe his last on 9 September 2012 due to brief illness at Anand. Dr. Verghese Kurien will always be remembered as the person who redefined the meaning of milk as a powerful tool for economic development.

Operation Flood

  

Operation Flood:  one of the world's largest rural development programmes Launched in 1970, Operation Flood has helped dairy farmers direct their own development, placing control of the resources they create in their own hands.  A National Milk Grid links milk producers throughout India with consumers in over 700 towns and cities, reducing seasonal and regional price variations while ensuring that the producer gets fair market prices in a transparent manner on a regular basis.

The bedrock of Operation Flood has been village milk  producers' cooperatives, which procure milk and provide inputs and services,  making modern management and technology available to members.  Operation Flood's objectives included :

• Increase milk production ("a flood of milk")
• Augment rural incomes
• Reasonable prices for consumers

Programme Implementation

Operation Flood was implemented in three phases.

Phase I

Phase I (1970-1980) was financed by the sale of skimmed milk powder and butter oil gifted by the European Union then EEC through the World Food Programme.  NDDB planned the programme and negotiated the details of EEC assistance.

During its first phase, Operation Flood linked 18 of India's premier milksheds with consumers in India's  four major metropolitan cities:  Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

Phase II

Operation Flood's Phase II (1981-85) increased the milksheds from 18 to  136; 290 urban markets expanded the outlets for milk.  By the end of 1985, a self-sustaining system of 43,000 village cooperatives covering 4.25 million milk producers had become a reality.  Domestic milk powder production increased from 22,000 tons in the pre-project year to 140,000 tons by 1989, all of the increase coming from dairies set up under Operation Flood. In this way EEC gifts and World Bank loan helped to promote self-reliance.  Direct marketing of milk by producers' cooperatives increased by several million litres a day.

Phase III

Phase III (1985-1996) enabled dairy cooperatives to expand and strengthen the infrastructure required to procure and market increasing volumes of milk.  Veterinary first-aid health care services, feed and artificial insemination services for cooperative members were extended, along with intensified member education.

Operation Flood's Phase III consolidated India's dairy cooperative movement, adding 30,000 new  dairy cooperatives to the 42,000 existing societies organised during Phase II.  Milksheds peaked to 173 in 1988-89 with the numbers of women members and Women's Dairy Cooperative Societies increasing significantly.

Phase III gave increased emphasis to research and development in animal health and animal nutrition.  Innovations like vaccine for Theileriosis , bypass protein feed and urea-molasses mineral blocks, all contributed to the enhanced productivity of milch animals.

From the outset, Operation Flood was conceived and implemented as much more than a dairy programme.  Rather, dairying was seen as an instrument of development, generating employment and regular incomes for millions of rural people. 

  "Operation Flood can be viewed as a twenty year experiment confirming the Rural Development Vision" ( World Bank Report 1997c.)

Dr. Verghese Kurien will always be remembered as a man with strong will and self-belief.

Here are few of his thoughts.

India's place in the sun would come from the partnership between wisdom of its rural people and skill of its professionals

The milk of India is produced by millions of small and marginal farmers and landless labourers'. It is on their behalf and in their name that i accept this high honour.

India needs to show an honest face, a kind face, a human face - and not an arrogant face as the powerful nations of today (do). What you need is good management with farmer power. Good management gives this power the right direction and thrust. Nothing can stop the farmers then. Least of all the MNCs.

Milk is the only commodity which has to be collected twice a day, every day of the year. Thus, cooperatives are the only logical system for the dairy industry. About 85% of the industry in the US, Denmark and Australia is run by cooperatives. No other system will work for milk. Who told you there is one Amul? There are more than 175 Amuls across various districts (in Gujarat).

True development is not the development of land, or of cows; it is the development of men and women.

Innovation cannot be mandated or forced on people; it is everywhere, a function of the quality of the people and the environment. We need to have enough skilled people working in a self- actuating environment to produce innovation

I am like a cat, throw me wherever you want to, I will still stand on my feet Eight hours for dairy, eight hours for family and eight hours for sleep

My philosophy in life is to do as much good as I can to those who are less fortunate, but I would like to live my life as a common man

The time has come for massive rural development in our country. The task is daunting and the opposing is great, but I believe that it is also the greatest opportunity that has ever been presented to a society such as ours.

I trust, in a humble way - dairying is such as instrument of change: an instrument not only of technical change, but also of economic and social change. It is to such instruments that we must look to build the India tomorrow.

All the tools are with us, in our Hands, to effect the transformation of our predominantly rural society. Never has an elite had such an opportunity.

In every successful grassroots cooperative, members trust their leaders. Trust is the most cost-effective way to manage cooperatives.

If we can again create the environment, the opportunity, and the education, our villages will provide a new generation of leaders who will not only rebuild our cooperative movement, but who will help us to build a truly great nation.

This process of modernization cannot merely demonstrate to producers the application of such techniques as artificial insemination, improved animal feeding etc. On the contrary, it inevitably shows the producers that they can use modern science and technology to achieve the larger objectives of their own lives.

To be quite honest, service to our nation's farmers was not the career I had envisioned for myself. But somehow, a series of events swept me along and put me in a certain place at a certain time when I had to choose between one option and another.

Sardar Vallabhai Patel's vision has always been a source of great inspiration. He knew that our rural people could never become really free until they were liberated from the exploitation of moneylenders. Sardar Patel believed that the way to address these problems was to build rural institutions that would serve the farmers' economic interests. He urged dairy farmers to organize milk cooperatives, which would give them control over the resources they generated and assigned Morarji Desai, his Deputy, to coordinate this effort.

I was fortunate that I enjoyed the support of all the governments that came to power. I have been and continue to be, highly critical of our bureaucracy. Fortunately for us, within our bureaucracy, there are a number of people who are dedicated, patriotic and able.

I am in the business of empowerment. Milk is just a tool in that.

I am supposed to exploit the consumer; and I will (exploit them), but not in a way that will create resentment. I have to milk the consumer. And milk them I will, but gently.

https://www.drkurien.com/journey