India loses dairy pioneer Verghese Kurien

Known as the father of the“white revolution” in India, Verghese Kurien, who transformed India from a milk-deficient country to the world’s largest milk producer, passed away in Nadiad after a brief illness. He was 90 and is survived by wife Molly Kurien and daughter Nirmala. Founder chairman of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), Kurien led “Operation Flood” to make India the biggest milk producing nation in the world, besides making Amul dairy a household name. His professional life was dedicated to empower the Indian farmers through cooperatives.

He turned India from a milk-deficient nation into the world’s leading milk producer, transformed a cooperative society of dairy farmers in a small pastoral town into the country’s largest food brand, rescued millions of dairy farmers from poverty and gradually became one of the few beloved public figures in India, according to the New York Times. The man who described himself as an employee of farmers lay in state inside a coffin in a large auditorium in Anand, the small town where he had spent most of his life. Thousands came to pay their respects.

The president of India, Pranab Mukherjee expressed grief at the demise of Kurien and hailed him as the one who made enormous contribution to the fields of agriculture, rural development and dairy. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and vice-pesident Hamid Ansari also expressed their condolences on his death.