(Bachi Karkaria is an Indian journalist and columnist. The column first appeared in Times of India on October 27, 2021)
- This Saturday marks the 75th anniversary of India’s fabled cooperative. Milked from just two villages in Gujarat’s Kaira district, its initial procurement of 250 litres a day has swelled to 29 million litres. With a turnover of Rs 6 billion, Amul is now the largest food brand in India. So, while the moppet in the polka-dotted dress is as much of an Indian mascot as the Air India Maharajah, no disinvestment will churn off its cream. It’s actually a shrikhand and chocolate celebration. Four weeks later comes the 100th birth anniversary of the ‘Doodhwalla of the Nation’. Dr Verghese Kurien’s Operation Flood plus a tsunami of products has made us the Biblical land ‘overflowing with milk and honey’. Before the RapIndia mob attacks me for defiling a fully Indian milkfest with an alien ‘Abrahamic’ reference, here’s an anticipatory apology. If I cite the Bible instead of the Bhagwad Gita, it is not an insult but ignorance. Kshama kijiye, I don’t know a shuddh-as-desi-ghee metaphor for plenty and peace…
Also Read: India is no place for US-style investor activism content plan: Andy Mukherjee
