Verghese Kurain, better known as father of "White Revolution" and founder of Amul, passed away due to old age problems on Sunday morning at Muljibhai Patel Urological Hospital in Gujarat. He was 90, Press Trust of India reported.
Kurien, who is a Padma Vibhushan awardee, spearheaded the movement of Operation Flood - the largest dairy development program of the world. Besides making Amul a success, he also paved the path for India to become the world's largest milk producer from a milk-deficient country.
"He had been ailing with kidney problems since quite some time and was admitted to a speciality hospital in Nadiad. He passed away around 2 am today (Sunday)," said RS Sodhi, Gujarat Co-Operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) managing director said according to IANS.
Kurien was born on Nov 26, 1921, in the Calicut district of Kerala. He graduated in Physics from Loyola College, Madras, and then studied mechanical engineering from the College of Engineering. He then flew to US for higher studies. After arriving from the States, he worked on making the dairy development cooperative model into one of the largest and most successful institutions in India.
Kurien is survived by wife Molly and daughter Nirmala, His body was brought to his residence Anand on Sunday morning and the funeral rites will be performed late Sunday afternoon, said Sodhi.
