Dr Verghese Kurien deserves the Bharat Ratna; his work transformed the lives of crores of farmers: RS Sodhi

Today is the centenary of Dr Verghese Kurien, who is known as the father of White Revolution in India. Also known as “The Milkman of India”, he played a crucial role in turning India into the largest producer of milk in the world. On the occasion of Dr Kurien’s 100th birthday, RuralVoice spoke to Dr RS Sodhi, Managing Director (MD) of Amul, in its special video interview programme “Rural Dialogue” on various issues like Dr Kurien’s achievements such as establishing Amul as the country’s largest FMCG and dairy company, the values he imparted and the vision he had for the country and the dairy sector. You may click on the video attached with this story and watch the full conversation.

On the question of Bharat Ratna to Dr Kurien, Sodhi said, “Dr Kurien must get the honour in view of his contribution to the country. If this happens, it is not Dr Kurien who will get the Bharat Ratna, but Bharat Ratna that will get Dr Kurien.”

Dr Sodhi said in the conversation that Dr Kurien’s vision was to make India self-reliant. He worked on the vision of “vocal for local” and created the Amul model. At a time when India was fully dependent on imports, he had the vision of establishing India as the leader in milk production. His work led to raising the standard of life of millions of cattle-rearers. He played a crucial role in setting up major dairy institutes that are developing constantly even today. Thanks to his vision, 1.35 billion Indians are food-secure today in terms of dairy products.  

Verghese Kurien believed, said Dr Sodhi, that no compromises should be made when it came to funding and technology for the farmers. As a result, he went for the best-quality machines and architecture. Dr Kurien said, “If everything is of good quality, the product also turns out to be good and the customers are happy.” He believed that since most of those associated with milk cooperatives were small farmers, they should not be deceived on any count. Neither should there be any compromise on the quality of Amul products that the customers bought. Dr Kurien’s main aim was to see that the Indian farmers benefited while the customers received good-quality milk products at fair prices. It was in accordance with this principle that he planned the business structure and he focused on this. Sharing his own experience, Dr Sodhi said, “According to Dr Kurien, if you do not ignore the farmers’ interests, no matter how many problems and difficulties you have to face, you will always be successful. We are working on the same line even today.”

You may watch all this and much more in the full conversation with Dr RS Sodhi by clicking on the video here.