I Too Had A Dream

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Architect of 'Operation Flood', the largest dairy development Programme in the world, Dr Verghese Kurien has enabled India to become the largest milk producer in the world. A man with a rare vision, Dr Kurien has devoted a lifetime to realizing his dream empowering the farmers of India. He has engineered the milk cooperative movement in India.

It was a sheer quirk of fate that landed him in Anand where a small group of farmers were forming a cooperative, Kair District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union Limited (better known as Amul), to sell their milk. Intrigued by the integrity and commitment of their leader Tribhuvandas Patel, Dr. Kurien joined them. Since then there has been no looking back. The 'Anand pattern of cooperatives' were so successful that, at the request of the Government of India, he set up the National Dairy Development board to replicate it across India. He also established the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation to market its products.

In these memoirs, Sr. Verghese Kurien, popularly known as the 'father of the white revolution', recounts, with customary candour, the story of his life and how he shaped the dairy industry. Profoundly inspiring, these memoirs help us comprehend the magnitude o his contributions and his multifaceted personality.

About the Author

Born in Calicut, Kerala, Dr. Verghese Kurien graduated in science and engineering from Madras University and Michigan State University, USA, respectively.

He began his career in dairying at the government's creamery in Anand, Gujarat, later joining the Kaira District Cooperative Milk producers' union Limited (now amul). As Chairman of the National Dairy Development Board, he implemented 'Operation Flood'.

He has received countless awards, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award (1963), Wateler Peace Prize (1986), world food Prize (1989), Padma Shri (1965), Padma Bhushan (1966), and Padma Vibhushan (1999).

Dr. Kurien is currently Chairman of the Institute of Rural Management, Anand, Chairman of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation and Chairman of the National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India.

Gouri Salvi is a Mumbai-based freelance journalist. She has worked with Onlooker and Sunday Magazines and with the women's Feature Service. She has written on development and gender issues, has co-edited Beijing! A book on the UN's fourth World Conference on Women, and edited Development Retold: Voices From the Field, a book on the Indian Cooperative Union.