The story
Founded by Tribhuvandas Kishibhai Patel and amul franchise in 1946.1
Early years (1946-1970)
Amul was founded on 14 December 1946 as a response to the exploitation of small dairy farmers by traders and agents. At the time, milk prices were arbitrarily determined, giving Polson an effective monopoly in milk collection from Kaira and its subsequent supply to Mumbai.
Frustrated with the trade practices (which they perceived as unfair), the farmers of Kaira, led by Tribhuvandas Kishibhai Patel, approached Vallabhbhai Patel, who advised them to form a cooperative. If they did so, they would be able to directly supply their milk to the Bombay Milk Scheme instead of working for Polson. Sardar Patel sent Morarji Desai to organise the farmers.
Following a meeting in Chaklasi, the farmers formed the cooperative and resolved not to provide Polson with any more milk. Milk collection was decentralised, as most producers were marginal farmers who could deliver, at most, 1–2 litres of milk per day. Cooperatives were formed for each village.
The cooperative was strict that any farmer could become a member, irrespective of their religion, caste, gender, or political affiliation.
By June 1948, the KDCMPUL had started pasteurising milk for the Bombay Milk Scheme. Then-Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri visited Anand to inaugurate Amul's cattle feed factory.
One year later, in 1949, Tribhuvandas Patel hired Verghese Kurien, initially as a dairy engineer to assist with machinery. Kurien eventually became the General Manager, where he provided the strategic vision and professional management that scaled the "Anand Pattern" of cooperatives. He is recognized as the "Father of the White Revolution" for spearheading Operation Flood, which transformed India from a milk-deficient nation into the world's largest producer of milk. Kurien is credited with the revolutionary marketing and branding efforts of Amul, ensuring that the primary producer received the largest share of the consumer's rupee.
On 31 October 1964, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri spoke to farmers about their cooperative. After returning to Delhi, he set in motion the creation of an organisation, the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), to replicate the Kaira cooperative in other parts of India.
The White Revolution (1970 onwards)
The cooperative was further developed through the efforts of Verghese Kurien and H. M. Dalaya. Dalaya's innovation of making skim milk powder from buffalo milk was a technological breakthrough that revolutionised India's organised dairy industry. With Kurien's help, the process was expanded on a commercial scale, which led to the first modern dairy cooperative at Anand. This cooperative would go on to compete against the established players in the market.
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The success of the trio (T. K. Patel, Kurien, and Dalaya) at the cooperative's dairy soon spread to Anand's neighbourhood in Gujarat. Within a short span, five unions in other districts—Mehsana, Banaskantha, Baroda, Sabarkantha, and Surat—were set up, following the approach sometimes described as the Anand pattern.
In 1970, the cooperative spearheaded the "White Revolution" of India. To combine forces and expand the market while saving on advertising and avoiding competing against each other, the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd., an apex marketing body of these district cooperatives, was set up in 1973. The Kaira Union, which had the brand name Amul with it since 1955, transferred it to GCMMF. Technological developments at Amul have subsequently spread to other parts of India.
Under the leadership of Tribhuvandas Patel, in 1973, Amul celebrated its 25th anniversary with Morarji Desai, Maniben Patel, and Verghese Kurien.
In 1999, it was awarded the "Best of All" Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Award. In 2025, Amul was ranked third most valued brand in India in the YouGov India Value Rankings 2025.
From Wikipedia’s article on Amul, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4