Remembering Verghese Kurien, architect of Amul and India's White Revolution

September 9 marks the death anniversary of Verghese Kurien, father of India's White Revolution and founder of Amul, who died on this day in 2012. He was born on November 26, 1921, and is known worldwide as the architect of India's dairy revolution.

Kurien's vision gave birth to the Anand Milk Union Limited, or Amul, a cooperative movement that made India self-sufficient in milk. The Operation Flood programme he launched became the world's largest dairy development programme and made India the world's largest milk producer.

Kurien's biggest contribution is considered to be connecting farmers directly to markets, cutting out the chain of middlemen and strengthening the rural economy. He was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan, the country's highest civilian award, along with several other national and international honours. He led a simple life dedicated to national service and brought prosperity to millions of farmers.

September 9 is also associated with several other historical events. In 1850, California became the 31st state of the United States. In 1945, Japan surrendered to China in the Second Sino-Japanese War. In 1991, Tajikistan became independent from the Soviet Union. In 2015, Elizabeth II became the longest-reigning monarch in United Kingdom history. In 2016, North Korea completed its fifth nuclear test.

On this day, Russian writer Leo Tolstoy was born in 1828, and Dennis Ritchie, creator of the C programming language, was born in 1941. Indian actor Akshay Kumar was also born on September 9, 1967. Param Vir Chakra recipient Captain Vikram Batra, martyred in the Kargil War, was born on this day in 1974.

On this day in 1976, Mao Zedong, architect of modern China, died, and in 2001, Afghanistan's Vice President and Foreign Minister Ahmad Shah Massoud was assassinated.