Verghese Kurien, who is also known as the ‘Father of White Revolution’ in the country. Every year since 2014, Dr. Kurien’s birth anniversary has been observed as National Milk Day.
Born in into a wealthy Syrian Christian family in Kozhikode, Kerala, Dr. Kurien was an engineer who had majored in Dairy Engineering. Kurien started his career with the foundation of 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 support the growing business with technical 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.
Dr. Kurien has been recognized with Ramon Magsaysay Award, Wateler Peace Prize, World Food Prize, Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan, among other honors. Kurien transformed the sector and was an idealistic experimentalist. It was the milkman who had instrumented the ‘Amul girl’ ad campaign (advertising with a bigger public message) which became one of the longest-running for decades. Dr. Kurien believed that learning should never end and as a result, he ended up receiving 15 honorary degrees from various colleges throughout the world during his fifty-year career. He died on September 9, 2012, at the age of 90, in a hospital in Nadiad, near Anand, following a brief illness.
As a part of the centenary year celebrations of the architect of India’s White Revolution Dr. Verghese Kurien, all organizations created and conceptualized by Dr. Kurien are celebrating various events. It bears recalling that the nation celebrates 26th November, the birthday of Kurien as the National Milk Day.
As a part of the centenary year celebrations of the architect of India’s White Revolution Dr. Verghese Kurien, all organizations created and conceptualized by Dr. Kurien are celebrating various events. It bears recalling that the nation celebrates 26th November, the birthday of Kurien as the National Milk Day.
