A White Touch To A Green Revolution BY PAVITHRAN

A Tribute to Verghese Kurien – November 26, 2021 was celebrated in Anand, Gujarat as the 100th Birth Anniversary of Verghese Kurien, the Leader of India’s White Revolution, which increased the incomes of the wealth of millions of cattle-owning small farmers in India, many of them women.

Preface: An article written by Arun Maira was published in The Hindu Newspaper dated 03 – 12 – 2021 and my essay below was based on the issues raised there.

Here White Touch means – Milk Revolution Touch as envisaged and implemented by Gujarat Anand Amul Fame Verghese Kurien who is the leader of White Revolution.

Green Revolution means the Increased Agricultural Productions in India by increasing the output of agricultural produces by introducing modern farming, increased use of chemical fertilizers, and also constructions of dams and irrigation systems resorting to Monocropping on fields requiring seeds, fertizer, water etc. on scale.

In Verghese Model of White Revolution, the emphasis was not on outputs of milk but was on the improved income of small farmers on their existing outputs.

While the Green Revolution was largely a technocratic enterprise driven by science and the principles of efficiency, the white revolution was a socio-economic enterprise driven by political leaders and principles of equity.

Srdar Vallabhai Patel and Tribhuvandas Kishibhai Patel had a vision of a cooperative movement of Gujarat farmers for increasing their incomes.

Verghese Kurien recounts in his autobiography, I Too Had A Dream, how they enrolled him in their visionary enterprise and how he became a servant of the farmers for whose sake the enterprise was created, and amongst whom he lived.

Hence Amul has become one of India’s most loved brands, and is respected internationally too for the quality of its products and the efficiency of its management.

Kurien saw to it that the Amul enterprise achieved its outcome of empowering farmers because the governance of the enterprise to achieve equity was always kept in the foreground, with the efficiency of its production processes in the background as a means to the outcome.

In the similar way, A White Touch to Green Revolution is the need of the hours and Modi Government, on repealing 3 Farms Laws which were more on OUTPUT AND EFFICIENCY OF AGRICULTURE and less on Income of Farmers and their active participations due to CORPORATE TOUCH.

Let there be Kurien White Touch to Farmers Reforms to solve the long problems of farmers – big and small. Let Corporate be kept for the present outside the arena and Let us allow Amul Co-operative Methods be applied only to remove the fears of farmers if any of usurping their lands by the Corporates.

Now Farmers being a confused and agitating lots and Government being unable to convince all farmers of their good intentions let Modi government use White Amul Kurien Touch to Farms Reforms.

Green Revolution had taken care of Productions, and now let Kurien White Touch take care of Welfare of Farmers – Big and Small.

Farmers should not be compelled to sell their produce only to Mundis – but they should have full freedom to produce and also to market – to get maximum price for their produce.