In a small town in Gujarat, a young engineer arrived with no grand dreams. He came with a government posting, planning to serve his term and move on. But what he saw changed his life forever.
Farmers, who worked day and night to produce milk, were being cheated by middlemen. They earned barely enough to survive while traders sold their milk for high profits. Watching this injustice, Verghese Kurien decided he couldn’t just stand by.
That moment sparked a revolution. A revolution that would turn India from a milk-deficit nation into the largest milk producer in the world. A revolution that came to be known as the White Revolution.
From Engineer to Farmer’s Friend
Verghese Kurien was born on 26 November 1921 in Kozhikode, Kerala. He studied engineering in Chennai and later went to the United States for higher studies in dairy engineering.
When he returned, he was sent to Anand in Gujarat to work at a small government creamery. He thought it would be a temporary job. But life had other plans.
Kurien met local farmers who were struggling under unfair trade practices. Instead of leaving, he chose to stay and fight for them. He believed farmers deserved ownership of their work, and he wanted to help them build it.
The Birth of Amul
Together with local leaders, Kurien helped farmers form a cooperative. This cooperative was owned and managed by the producers themselves. That is how Amul was born.
Amul was not just about milk. It was about trust, dignity, and fairness. Farmers began earning stable incomes, and consumers across India tasted milk that carried the pride of rural India.
What started in one village soon grew into a movement.
Operation Flood — The White Revolution
Kurien knew the idea could not stay limited to Anand. With the support of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), he launched Operation Flood in the 1970s.
This program built chilling plants, transport systems, and a national milk grid. It connected rural producers to urban markets, making milk available across the country at fair prices.
Operation Flood changed everything. India, once struggling to meet its milk demand, became the largest milk producer in the world.
Real Change in Rural India
Behind the big numbers were small but powerful stories. Farmers could now pay for their children’s education. Families ate better food. Women, who played a central role in dairy work, gained respect and financial independence.
Kurien’s cooperative model gave power back to the people who had been invisible for too long.
Institutions that Lasted Beyond Him
Kurien never wanted to be a celebrity. Instead, he built institutions that would continue the work even after him.
He founded NDDB, strengthened Amul through the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), and established the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA).
These institutions are still standing strong today — serving farmers, training leaders, and proving that Kurien’s dream was built to last.
Honours and Recognition
For his life’s work, Kurien was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award, Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, World Food Prize, and the Padma Vibhushan.
But ask any farmer in Anand, and they will tell you — the real award was the smile he brought to their homes.