Amul Dairy: the foundation

Abstract

Amul designed the framework within which the cooperative dairy movement in India evolved. It thus built not only the structure of ‘cooperative’ for the dairy movement, but also made it highly pragmatic for its adaptation in other parts of India and in developing countries in general. With its enormous success also came a few problems, both foreseen and unforeseen. Some of these were due to a partial loss of its early élan and a declining commitment to pursue, doggedly, the intractable problem of rural poverty with the help of the one single weapon at its disposal, namely cooperative dairying. Nevertheless, what it did achieve, and is still struggling to achieve, in rural areas will go down in history as one of the greatest triumphs of post-independence India. Its achievements and limitations also furnish us with an insight into all that is possible, and difficult, in reaching out to the poor in a developing society.