As we all know that milk is a good source of calcium, protein, and other nutrients. While the country now has enough milk, the situation in the mid-twentieth century was quite different. But thanks to Verghese Kurien, India's "Father of the White Revolution," who changed everything.
Verghese Kurien was instrumental in making India the world's largest milk producer. Kurien, who was born on November 26, 1921, had a "billion-litre" concept that created dairy farming, India's greatest self-sustaining sector.
Kurien, also known as the 'Milkman of India,' ushered in the White Revolution, which served as a model for many countries throughout the world. As the world celebrates the genius on the anniversary of his death, here are ten fascinating facts about him:
Facts about Verghese Kurien:
1. On November 26, 1921, Verghese Kurien was born into a wealthy Syrian Christian family in Kozhikode, Kerala.
2. Kurien graduated from Loyola College in 1940 with a degree in science and a bachelor's degree in engineering from Guindy College of Engineering in Chennai when he was just 14 years old. Later, fate would have it that he would study Dairy Engineering, despite his dissatisfaction at the moment.
3. Kurien intended to join the army as an engineer while he was a military cadet and boxer in college.
4. Kurien found a home at Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union Limited, managed by Tribhuvandas Patel, while stationed in Anand, Gujarat, which became renowned as the Milk Capital of India. Patel urged Kurien to aid the budding business with technology support as he packed his things to leave, and those few months changed Kurien's life and the lives of hundreds of thousands of Indian farmers.
5. Patel purchased additional gear, boosting the cooperative's capacity from 200 litres of milk in 1948 to 20,000 litres in 1952, and the Anand cooperative model took off.
6. A scientist at the laboratory suggested the name 'Amul' in 1957. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "Amoolya," which means"precious." Anand Milk Union Limited was sometimes abbreviated as AMUL.
7.The creation of milk powder from copious buffalo milk, rather than the customary cow milk, which was in low supply in India, was a significant invention at Amul, the world's first.
8. Kurien earned the Ramon Magsaysay Award, Wateler Peace Prize, World Food Prize, Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan, among other honours.
9. Kurien's help was instrumental in the 'Amul girl' ad campaign (advertising with a bigger public message) becoming one of the longest-running for decades.
10. Kurien died on September 9, 2012, at the age of 90, in a hospital in Nadiad, near Anand, following a brief illness.
Bottom Line:
Dr. Kurien always saw himself as a farmer's employee who would go to any length to ensure their prosperity. He received 15 honorary degrees from various colleges throughout the world during his fifty-year career because he thought that learning should never end, but the finest accolade given to him by the people of India was the title "Milkman of India."
