‘Green Revolution’ and ‘White Revolution’ are two of the major revolutions which has led India scale greater heights in the agriculture and milk production sector worldwide. White revolution, that has been regarded as the world’s biggest dairy development program responsible for transforming India from being a milk-deficient nation to the world’s largest milk producer, was possible because of one man who made the impossible possible- Verghese Kurien.
Verghese Kurien commonly regarded as the Father of the White Revolution was born on this very day 94 years back on 26 November, 1921 and to cherish his life and works, Google Doodle has paid tribute to him. In the doodle, we can see Kurien sitting on a stool with a milk can in his hand, along with two milk cans lying besides him. There’s also a buffalo standing from where the Google word is spelled with the help of long rope.
What makes him such an important part of Indian history is the fact that he’s the mastermind behind starting the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, whose Amul is one of India’s iconic brands. Amul is an Indian dairy cooperative, based at Anand in the state of Gujarat, India and is till date every household’s name when it comes to dairy products. One of the most interesting things about Amul is their eye-catchy, witty ad campaigns that takes on current events. The ads are seen on hoardings and newspapers across the country and there have been over 4,000 Amul Butter hoardings till now.
What made them so popular and creative is the fact that the Amul Management (including Dr Verghese Kurien) never interfered in the making of these ads. And, daCunha Communications had the freedom of putting up the ads as they did not need to get their approval for the same.
Verghese received many awards, including the Padamshri (1965) and the Padmabhushan (1966) and in recognition of his commendable work, Michigan State University awarded him with an honorary degree in 1965.
Thanks to his invaluable contribution to the dairy industry, his birthday is now celebrated as National Milk Day. One of his quotes stands true till date reads, ‘India’s Place in the Sun Would Come from the Partnership Between Wisdom of its Rural People and Skill of its Professionals‘.
Amul Topical: Celebrating the legacy of ‘our Milkman’ of India. #NationalMilKDay #Kurien pic.twitter.com/aPN6PL0KV0
— Amul.coop (@Amul_Coop) November 26, 2015