Here is a Thread on one of India's Original Startup, an organization that became a symbol for quality, consistency, affordability and social upliftment!
Pestonji Dalal started a small shop (1888) in Bombay to roast and grind coffee. In 1910, Polly (his nickname), looking for expansion, decided to start a dairy business in Kaira (Gujarat) for supplying Butter to the British Army. 
By 1926 he had one of the most advanced(India) dairy plants at Kheda (a delta between two rivers, Mahi and Sabarmati). He was great in marketing (came with the early gift coupon redemption system, brand mascot, etc) but at the end of the day, ruthless in paying to farmers.
A young man (named after his uncle, Rao Saheb P. K. Verghese) from the family of John Matthai (India’s Finance Minister) had just left TISCO & abroad a ‘Liberty’ ship to join Michigan State University, to study dairy engineering, where he will meet Harichand M. Dalaya.
He was sent to the US on the scholarship of Ministry of Agriculture, however, he was studying more of nuclear physics. Ministry on knowing this nulled his job offer of dairy engineer at the Imperial Dairy Research Inst. (Bangalore) and posted him to a strange place called Anand.
Where farmers of Kaira district had responded to the demand of Polson and was bestknown milk pocket in the region. This was the time when India was struggling for its freedom from British rule. Kaira’s farmers complained about their exploitation to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Morarji Desai organised the farmers and was looking for a chairman. Many came forward, then he asked ‘Don’t you want to be the chairman?’ ‘No, Saheb,’ replied Tribhuvandas. Than Morarji said, ‘So you don’t want to be the chairman? In that case, you shall be the chairman.’
They decide to call-off the milk supplies to Bombay. Milk Commissioner and Dara Khurody (later built Aarey Milk Colony) came & said, ‘He wears a Gandhi topi. How is he going to handle this milk business? Tribhuvandas led the formation of a milk cooperative in Kaira in Dec 1946.
Tribhuvandas went to ‘foreign-returned’ engineer for ‘expert’ advice. "Scrap this dairy. With this antiquated equipment, there will be no success". Tribhuvandas asked him to quit his govt job and join. He accepted the offer and will soon get the new machinery from L&T in 1950.
This combo will prove to be the deadly mix for Amul. Tribhuvandas acted as the CEO, arranging fund, adding more farmers and Kurian as GM run the production. It also sparked the collective consciousness of small farmers and producers of foodstuffs throughout India.
In Girgaum, Bombay, Jaswantiben, Parvatiben, Ujamben, Banuben, Laguben, Jayaben, etc. borrowed Rs. 80 and bought a loss-making papad factory to commercialize the only skill they had – cooking. Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad was thus started in 1959.
Under Nehru, P.C. Mahalanobis argued for large industries and co-operatives were pushed back. But then in 1964, when Mr. Shastri as a PM decided to spend a night in the village with any bureaucracy. NDDB was born, HQ at Anand. 1st time, a National Inst. was located in a village.
Soon model was replicated for everything that was edible and unorganized. Suguna Foods branded the wares of unorganized poultry farmers, while Safal did that to vegetables, and the Himachal Pradesh Horticultural worked on apple farmers. Kodai Cheese Factory was set up in 1973.
Dr. Kurian, a Kerala Christian (meat-eater & alcohol drinker) did his magic in a vegetarian teetotaler society. He once said, “There are many Inst. to produce a Kurien, but there is none to produce a Tribhuvandas. You give me a Tribhuvandas and I will give you a Kurien.”
Also, Mr Dalaya was the real technical backbone. If Mr Patel was Amul's Father, Dr Kurien the Son and Mr Dalaya the Holy Ghost!
He was originally from Karachi, where his family owned a dairy farm with ~300 cows. Post Partition uprooting, he was convinced by Kurien to join Amul.
He was originally from Karachi, where his family owned a dairy farm with ~300 cows. Post Partition uprooting, he was convinced by Kurien to join Amul.
Their success was also in marketing milk. When they needed a tag line to replace ‘Purely the Best’. The word ‘butterly’ was chosen. ‘It’s ungrammatical,’ objected a few. But Kurien, said, ‘I think it’s utterly mad; but if you think it’ll work, go ahead.’
But Amul was also not without their corporate battles, First Dr. Kurian vs Amrita Patel (daughter of Tribhuvandas), then BM Vyas (Kurian protégé) removing him and history getting repeated when he was removed by Parthibhia Bhatol & replaced by his own protégé (R S Sodhi)
This title song from Manthan (The Churning, movie was crowdfunded by Amul's farmers), is symbolic of their cooperative and entrepreneurship spirit that would changed India’s dairy sector and bring a Milk revolution in India.
