India Needs you....You need India

The bus route from Ahmedabad to Anand was dotted with emerging industries and evergreen rural fields . As part of our case study on corporate business  strategy at  Indian Institute of Management (  IIM  ) -Ahmedabad , we were travelling to Anand Milk Union Ltd ( from where Amul derived its brand name ) with expectation and excitement . The scheduled interactive  personal meeting with Dr Varghese Kurien, father of India’s white revolution and architect of Operation Flood was the reason for our excitement .

It was 1981 and Dr Kurien had already consolidated the cooperative movement in milk production and made India to surpass USA to become the world's largest milk producer . For the first time in the world , milk powder was made out of buffalo milk . Dr Kurien rightly  identified the problems of milk production in our country through his extensive field studies   and also understood the process of  exploitation our cattle breeding milk farmers were subjected to by the private milk producing units. Instead of paying the farmers according to the fat content of the milk that was collected , the middlemen paid them equally on the volume of milk. With the start of Milk cooperative unions where the farmers were enrolled as share holders , the cattle owners were paid according to the fat content of the milk collected . This not only  revolutionised the milk industry but made the positive  impact on the poor economic livelihood of millions of our cattle breeding farmers.

The conference hall was well lit and  when the lights went off, the screen at the middle dropped and  the film “ Manthan “ directed by the acclaimed film maker  Shayam Benegal started playing.  It was a film inspired by the Milk Cooperative movement and was dedicated to the Anand farmers. Girish Carnad and Smitha Patel acted in realistic roles. Seated along with us in the front row  was the  short and stout Milk Man of the nation who went up the stage  after the film. Though he looked very pensive after watching the movie ,  his words came like a  thunder during his address.

" Dear Friends ….. IIMs and IITs were started with a national mission but unfortunately today I see the graduates of IIMs rush to produce and market a new fragrant soap or shampoo to be used by the affluent ladies in their bath tubs    but not interested to work for our poor  farmers . Rural areas need management ideas and IIMs cannot close their eyes to this need . After milk I am planning to enter high end milk products like cheese and butter with Amul as brand and I am confident that we can be on par with Nestle . These products would help to sustain our profitability and all our shareholders would benefit . The semi urban population would for the first time taste the cheese and improve their nutrient values.  Gentlemen, your management training at IIM should be utilised for the larger masses of this nation and don’t waste your business strategies learnt here to market a shining soap or high end shoes . The country needs you for better services and products. “

Every word and expression reflected his sincerity of thought entwined with helpless anger.

Today when I see the catchy Amul cartoons and ads, I salute this man for his mission and dedication . It is a pride that Amul is exported to more than 40 countries and millions of Indian farmers are its shareholders . Amul provides livelihood for to 3.6 million men and  women across 18600 villages in Gujarat, generating an annual turnover of Rs 38,000 crores.

Dr Kurien studied at Layola college and Guindy engineering college at  Chennai and went to Michigan university for his MS in mechanical engineering in 1949 – coinciding with Indian Independence journey. He returned back to India and initiated the white revolution at a time when our nation had started its long journey towards development with its bleeding wings of poverty and communal violence .

 Many of our younger generation may not even  remember him as they remember the birthdays of their favourite film stars. Every year on his birth day  I see a small advertisement appearing in national newspapers issued by the National Diary Milk Corporation. The political leaders may forget this dedicated social engineer but our youth are to be reminded about the mission of such selfless men.

Today our IIMs and IITs are proud to declare the annual salaries of their  graduates after the placement interviews . The salaries run into crores of rupees paid by the foreign banks and multi national companies. It is sad that the original objective of starting these premium institutes is lost and the national revenues are spent to aid and assist MNCs and not our rural masses.  Is it the tribute we pay to those visionaries ?

 We are proud that the graduates of these premium institutes occupy the chief executive posts at  Silicon valley and Manhattan. But the bitter truth is that the Nation invested its rarest resources when it was starving for funds and went around the world to get aid   and established these institutes hoping  to reap the benefits for its impoverished millions .  

The real tribute will flow  only when at least a handful of  our IIM and IIT graduates use their expertise for the uplift of rural million instead of joining foreign banks , fashion chains and silicon companies