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Humiliating V Kurien In Gujarat

By Sanjeev Kumar

07 May, 2014
Countercurrents.org

The State Government of Gujarat, in her bid to make corporate happy went to the extent of humiliating the none other then Father of Indian White Revolution, Verghese Kurien. Kurien’s only crime was to oppose a move to transfer marketing power of cooperatives products (AMUL) from peasants to capitalist’s owned private companies. Kurien saw in the decision a form of “back-door privatisation” and thus opposed it. Government of Gujarat under the supervision of Amit Shah used all kind of mischievous means to isolate Kurien on the issue. In what must be a major blow, Kurien’s life-long control over the GCMMF has also been taken away. Faced by a no-confidence motion, Kurien was forced to resign from the chairpersonship of the GCMMF. One of the member Bharwad kept on insisting that other members should not attach too much importance to his resignation and wanted to ensure that Kurien could not make a comeback.

Kurien then went to IRMA but there also government humiliated him. His PA Joseph was called off from his service by government against which even Joseph himself resisted. The kind of allegations were made against him were shameless and unthinkable. He was alleged for misusing corporative funds for personal uses, holding the post of chairmen of GCMMF for 17 years unconstitutionally, misusing his power for sacking people who differ from him etc. He was first opposed by Amrita Patel who tried to make joint venture with private companies against which Kurien protested. When a Sex scandal noticed in ANAND, Ramesh Patel who was in video with a prostitute, Patel alleged Kurien as behind the story. He also alleged that in 2002 Kurien had threatened him to give 65 lakh, a collection from farmers of kheda for a function to facilitate kurien for his personal use. The IRMA member demanded Kurien’s resignation saying that he has been holding onto the post of the institute’s chairman unconstitutionally for 17 years. But despite all the efforts from his opponents, in October 2005 he was again elected as chairmen of GCMMF.

When the enemies of Kurien found it difficult to fight with Kurien from front, they used mischievous means. In February 2006 Kurien’s nomination to the National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India was rejected under alleged defects over his candidature. VC Joshi (Returning officer at the additional registrar of co-operative societies of the state government) found defects and rejected the nominations of the five other members who are believed to be part of Kurien’s lobby. It is seen as part of the ongoing battle between him and supporters of the National Dairy Development Board chairman Amrita Patel. On 19th March Kurien resigned from the post of chairmen of GCMMF. After resigning he said “I have been the chairman of GCMMF for five decades since its inception in 1973. Do i deserve this kind of treatment?”. While talking to media persons, he had told that he was thrown out, “they (Director of GCMMF) did not want me any longer. I had to resign; i was not given a choice.”

Can anyone justify the kind of hospitality, a man of this stature had been given in the state of Gujarat? An awarde of Padma Vibhushan to Padma Sri and from World Peace prize to Magsaysay; a man who took india from milk deficient state to world largest producer of Milk; a man who founded around thirty institution of excellence including AMUL, IRMA etc. For the knowledge of people, it should be remembered that it was the same Kurien who brought the White Revolution in the country. Experts across the world laughed at Kurien when he decided to manufacture Milk Powder from the Buffalo’s milk. He insisted for production of Milk powder from Buffalo’s milk because Buffalo has been the prime cattle for milk production in india. He took the challenge and when succeeded in producing milk from Buffalo’s milk, it shocked the scientist across the world. Large number of experts from New Zealand, Australia, US and other parts of world visited him to understand his innovation.

He was the same Kurien who collected 10 lakh rupee for financing the movie Manthan which was based on the story of birth of AMUL. When not a single financer was ready to finance the move, he collected RS 2 each from around half million farmers and movie was made. Again when no one was ready to screen the movie in her theater house, Kurien again suggested to release it in cities of Gujarat where he ensured trucks full of farmers to come and watch movie. Once the movie was released, it got success to the extant that within month it was screened worldwide. The movie got national award for best script. Manthan was screened even in United Nation.

When a man like Kurien pained in Gujarat, no one even acknowledged his pain. It was only on his death that some politicians from Bihar demanded Bharat Ratna for him. Not a single media houses or civil society of this country came out in support of this man when he was fighting against the Gujarat Government and its machinery to save the peasant of the Gujarat. Even today, peasants of Gujarat worship Kurien and will continue to worship but its pathetic to believe that our civil society and especially those who has been claiming to fight for peasants’ right did not even acknowledge his suffering.

What Kurien tried to fight against was not one among the several issue which has been consistently eroding the peasants and their economy. Encroachment over the peasant’s land and resources at token price has been rampant in the state of Gujarat. Pastoralist of Gujarat has been suffering from the encroachment over common grazing land, over which they don’t have ownership right and thus could not claim compensation. Number of coastal regions has been sold to multi-national fishing companies and local fishers were prohibited to fish in those region. Peasants and tribals are being displaced in the name of construction of dam and development but on the other hand displaced people are not getting water even to drink.

(This article is part of my report on Gujarat’s model of development. I prepared this report for a student forum (Jagriti Natya Manch) which consist students from JNU, DU, IIMC. I am one of the founding member of this forum)

Sanjeev Kumar (Antim)
[email protected]
JNU, New Delhi

 


 



 

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