I Too Had a Dream Quotes

“a person who does not have respect for time, and does not have a sense of timing, can achieve little.”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“I have always believed that once you identify the best person for a particular project and tell him or her exactly what you expect, you must put your complete trust in that person, allowing him or her to work independently without interference. If you do, the project is bound to succeed.”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“This is the reason I have always had little patience with bureaucrats. Time and again they have revealed to me that they exist for their own power and pelf; they do not exist for the good of the country. In my rare moments of extreme despair I actually wonder why Kosygin’s advice to me should not be heeded – that some changes can be brought about only by revolution and by beheading some people! This”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“As I have often said later, I was thrown into this little dusty town in Gujarat and into the lives of the dairy farmers of Kaira district by what I consider to be a sheer accident of fate – what turned out to be a strange pre-planned act of destiny. I had always imagined that I was cut out for ‘bigger and better things’ – for a glamorous, fast-paced life in a big city, a job with a prestigious firm and the pleasures of the luxurious lifestyle that go with it. Anand did not figure anywhere in my scheme of things. But I had to honour the contract with the Government of India which had enabled my higher studies in the US and therefore, here I was in Anand, a fish out of water.”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“I am one of those who firmly believe that our cities thrive at the expense of our villages; that our industries exploit agriculture.”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“If the situation demanded autocracy, I gave it autocracy.”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“I may be old-fashioned in my thinking but I have always believed that it is only when you get less than you are worth, that you can look for respect; if you are paid much more than you are worth you will get no respect. The one thing that I have never had a complaint about is the amount of love and respect which my dairy farmers showered upon me.”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“In 1962, the clouds of war against China darkened the nation. I got a call from the Prime Minister’s office asking me to come to Delhi for an urgent meeting. Also present at the meeting were some Generals and a senior bureaucrat, Shivaraman. I was informed that the Indian Army needed milk powder, and they asked me how much we could provide and how soon. I said, ‘A thousand tons and within six months.’ One of the Generals looked at me and said, ‘That’s not enough.’ I said, ‘Okay, then 1,500 tons.’ They said that, too, was not enough. ‘I suppose we stop wasting time, and you tell me the quantity that you need?’ I asked. ‘We need 2,750 tons,’ came the reply. I asked for a piece of paper as an idea began forming in my mind. I was aware that there was another milk powder plant in Rajkot, which belonged to the Government of Gujarat. It was a small plant, but I knew that if we put together all the powder and gave it to the army, sacrificing the entire civilian market, then we could fulfil this commitment in six months. So I did a swift calculation on a piece of paper and said, ‘It will be done. Now, can I go?’ The General expressed apprehension, ‘Supposing you let us down?’ ‘That is not the way to speak to Mr Kurien,’ Shivaraman said. ‘We have the highest regard for his words. If he says that he will do it, he will certainly do it. And besides, may I know what other alternative you have?’ That quietened the General. Then Shivaraman asked me, ‘What can the government do for you?’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘Loans? Grants? Anything you want?’ I said, ‘Mr Shivaraman, you said there is an emergency, and if Amul uses this emergency to squeeze money out of the government, then it is an unworthy organisation. I want nothing.’ From that day onwards, Shivaraman was an ally.”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“In 1962, the clouds of war against China darkened the nation. I got a call from the Prime Minister’s office asking me to come to Delhi for an urgent meeting. Also present at the meeting were some Generals and a senior bureaucrat, Shivaraman. I was informed that the Indian Army needed milk powder, and they asked me how much we could provide and how soon. I said, ‘A thousand tons and within six months.’ One of the Generals looked at me and said, ‘That’s not enough.’ I said, ‘Okay, then 1,500 tons.’ They said that, too, was not enough. ‘I suppose we stop wasting time, and you tell me the quantity that you need?’ I asked. ‘We need 2,750 tons,’ came the reply. I asked for a piece of paper as an idea began forming in my mind. I was aware that there was another milk powder plant in Rajkot, which belonged to the Government of Gujarat. It was a small plant, but I knew that if we put together all the powder and gave it to the army, sacrificing the entire civilian market, then we could fulfil this commitment in six months.”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“When you stand above the crowd, you must be ready to have stones thrown at you.”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“have always believed that once you identify the best person for a particular project and tell him or her exactly what you expect, you must put your complete trust in that person, allowing him or her to work independently without interference. If you do, the project is bound to succeed.”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“therefore, is a government at its best? It is a government that ‘governs’ least and instead finds ways to mobilise the energies of our people.”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“with adequate support, confrontation at the right time pays off.”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“the technical advice of ‘experts’ is all too often dictated by the economic interests of the advanced countries and not by the needs or ground realities in developing countries.”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“when you work merely for your own profit, the pleasure is transitory; but if you work for others, there is a deeper sense of fulfilment and if things are handled well, the money, too, is more than adequate.”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“I was convinced that the biggest power in India is the power of its people – the power of millions of farmers and their families. What if we mobilised them, if we combined this farmer power with professional management? What could they not achieve? What could India not become?”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“One cannot help but wonder what India would be today if we had a thousand Dr Kuriens with this type of vision and with similar commitment, dedication and national spirit.”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“The tragedy of India is that we frequently have no respect for Indians, for Indian efforts and for Indian successes”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“Working with Tribhuvandas and Kaira’s dairy farmers, I saw that when you work merely for your own profit, the pleasure is transitory; but if you work for others, there is a deeper sense of fulfilment and if things are handled well, the money, too, is more than adequate.”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“During those eight months, however, I looked around and said to myself that since I found myself placed in this unhappy situation, I must find something to do. This is what anyone with a good education would do; otherwise the so-called good education is worthless.”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“The tragedy of India is that we frequently have no respect for Indians, for Indian efforts and for Indian successes.”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“Unfortunately, we forgot that the biggest asset of India is its people. Any sensible government must learn to unleash the energy of its people and get them to perform instead of trying to get a bureaucracy to perform.”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“If you are always honest to yourself, it does not take much effort in always being honest with others.”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“For those who believe, no explanation is necessary; for those who do not, no explanation is possible. I”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“One day in 1987, the Chairman of a milk cooperative in the Rann of Kutch visited me at Anand and narrated the heart-rending plight of the salt farmers of his region. About 60 per cent of India’s salt is produced in the state of Gujarat and yet most of us here do not know of the harsh lives of the salt workers. Their situation, particularly in the Little Rann of Kutch, is very depressing. The salt workers have settled down in this arid, merciless desert where there is not a tree in sight. The villagers dig a hole in the ground, pump the water up and make a saltpan on some two hectares of land and farm salt. They work there for ten months a year producing salt. But they have to buy water from the merchant, to whom they ultimately sell the salt they produce. To get diesel for their pump they have to again depend on the same merchant. The salt worker finally gets two paise per kilo of salt from the merchant. There are no trees, no shelter for them, no schooling for their children. Long hours of working barefoot in the pans saturates their legs so much with salt that these farmers cannot even have a satisfactory cremation after death because their lower limbs do not burn. It is a miserable existence.”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“As far as multinationals are concerned, money always was and always will be their only God. I once told the Chairman of Nestle during a meeting, ‘I’ve been in this game for fifty years and I know your modus operandi well. Your problem is that in India you’re running into people who know more about dairying than you will ever know. Your problem is that there is a Kurien here and you are unable to find out what his price is, so you’re unable to buy him out, which is what you’d normally do. But you can’t buy me out; you can’t buy off Amul. Keep in mind that all your usual, unscrupulous procedures that bring you success everywhere else will not work here.”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“The tragedy of India is that we frequently have no respect for Indians, for Indian efforts and for Indian successes. This reminds me of a remark made to me, at the height of Amul’s success, by a high-ranking official of the Government of India in Delhi. He said, ‘Kurien, these chaps at Nestle are truly great people. What marvellous things they have achieved. You should go and see how well they run their dairy.’ ‘And shall I tell you how much better the British ran this country?’ I retorted. ‘So then, shall we call the British back? ‘ He had nothing further to say to me.”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“I have found, in over fifty years of confronting governments and defending cooperatives from political and bureaucratic interference, that when you begin demanding what is rightfully yours, there are many people even within the bureaucratic system who ensure that you retain those rights.”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“I have always believed that once you identify the best person for a particular project and tell him or her exactly what you expect, you must put your complete trust in that person, allowing him or her to work independently without interference. If you do, the project is bound to succeed. This”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream

“When Operation Flood was sanctioned I knew that it was a massive and extremely complex operation and we would need all the help we could possibly get from all quarters. It was in this connection that, one day, I called on J.R.D. Tata, Chairman of one of India’s largest industrial houses, one known for its commitment to quality and for its patriotism. I met him and explained to him the entire concept behind Operation Flood. I told him that such an enormous task would be extremely difficult to pull off alone and I requested him to spare six managers from the house of Tatas for one year, to help us improve the nation’s dairy industry. I could pay them only public-sector salaries, but within that, I assured him, I would pay them the best that I could. At the end of that year, his managers would return to his company, far richer for their thorough understanding of cooperatives and of agriculture. I was confident that it would be an extremely valuable experience for his managers. J.R.D Tata listened to me very patiently and then told me that since this was not a decision he alone could take I would have to present it to the board. I agreed to do so and met the board and once again explained the intricacies of the entire project to the members. They, too, listened very politely, smiled and nodded. But that is as far as they were prepared to go. To this day, I do not know whose decision it was, but we were loaned not even a single manager from the Tata Group. After all, would it have so adversely impacted the Tatas if they had deputed six managers to the NDDB and that, too, for a brief period of one year? The incident left me with a bitter taste and justified my belief that, in the ultimate analysis, the corporate world and the cooperative world are distinctly different. I”
― Verghese Kurien, I Too Had a Dream