Tribhuvan Sahkari University:
The Lok Sabha recently passed a bill to set up the Tribhuvan Sahkari University in Anand, Gujarat, that is named after Tribhuvandas Patel, who was one of the pioneers of the cooperative movement in India and instrumental in laying the foundation of Amul.
- Tribhuvandas Kishibhai Patel is an Indian independence activist, lawyer, and politician.
- A follower of Mahatma Gandhi, he is regarded as the father of the cooperative movement in India, most notably in the Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union in 1946, and the Anand Co-operative movement.
- He was born in 1903 to a farming family in Gujarat.
- He was very much influenced by the philosophy and principles of Mahatma Gandhi.
- He was totally involved in the various movements of Mahatma Gandhi, like civil disobedience, rural development, and the drive against untouchability, alcoholism,
- He was the President of Harijan Sevak Samiti from 1948 to 1983.
- In Nasik in 1930, he was jailed for the first time for the salt satyagraha.
- He was further imprisoned in Visapur in 1930 where he took an oath to dedicate his life for the benefit of the masses at large.
- In 1946, guided by the wisdom of Morarji Desai and inspired by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Tribhuvandas formed the Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union Ltd. (KDCMPUL) as a protest against the exploitation of local farmers by Polson Dairy.
- The basic approach adopted by Tribhuvandas Patel was first to establish milk cooperatives in the villages. These co-operatives were literally the “base” of the entire venture.
- He insisted that each village co-operative should be open to all milk producers in the village regardless of caste, creed, or community.
- He invited Dr. Verghese Kurien to KDCMPUL, who later spearheaded the White Revolution in India.
- He was instrumental in establishing the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), and Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA).
- During his lifetime he held various positions and received innumerable recognitions and awards for his outstanding leadership and social service. Some of these awards are:
- Ramon Magsaysay Award from the Philippines in 1963 as a recognition towards his community leadership,
Padma Bhushan from the Government of India, 1964, towards Social Service.
