Can’t let Amul in if it hits Nandini hard

Gujarat based milk cooperative Amul’s decision to enter Karnataka market seems to be motivated by Bharatiya Janata Party’s mindset of centralising authority, homogenizing culture and imposing Hindi across a country which prides itself on its diversity.

An early indication of this came from Union home minister Amit Shah’s speech at Mandya where he spoke while inaugurating the Karnataka Milk Federation’s (KMF) Rs. 260 crore plant on December 30 last year. Shah had obliquely suggested cooperation between Amul and KMF.

The creation of a Ministry for Cooperatives at Centre too had hinted about the intention of the Central dispensation to intrude into domain so far considered to be an exclusive preserve for state governments. The Amul’s move to enter the Karnataka market has come at a time when milk production in the State has come down by ten lakh litres a day and paucity in supply is hitting the consumers.

Most observers attribute the scarcity to be stage-managed by the BJP government in Karnataka to allow an opportunity for Amul to penetrate the state. Amul recently opened its Facebook and Twitter account in Kannada to woo the consumers. It was only a fortnight ago that FSSAI’s directive to the KMF to use Hindi work ‘Dahi’ instead of ‘Curd’ and ‘Mesru’ (in Kannada) raised a storm leading to a reversal of the order. While several brands of milk processed by private dairies are also competing with KMF’s ‘Nandini’ brand milk in the state market on a limited scale, the entry of Amul milk is perceived as a threat.

This is largely because ‘Nandini’ has effectively integrated with state’s populace and ethos and has successfully ruled the market for well over four decades. Amul too has presence in the state market but only with its high-end products such as ice cream, ghee, paneer and butter. The ramifications of such a move go further down. The milk federations operate within state boundaries under an unwritten agreement.

So while KMF rules the roost in Karnataka, Aavin has the monopoly in Tamil Nadu and Milma operates within Kerala. An essentially rural product, milk is procured from millions of farmers who are networked by cooperatives and enjoy a consensus built in local lingos and in accordance with the interest of the humble farmers and livestock breeders.

The labour unions of these milk federations are intertwined with politics and political parties of the state. Expansion of cooperatives on the national scale threatens to rupture the umbilical cord running underneath the web of interests and potentially transfers authority to parties run from Delhi or elsewhere.

The pushback the proposal of a merger has evoked in the state should be seen in this perspective which is least likely to be palatable to parties primarily pursuing the objective of safeguarding the state’s interest. No wonder then that the Janata Dal Secular has reacted in the most acerbic term to the proposal to sell Amul milk in Karnataka. It will be illogical to pursue expansion of cooperatives on a national level thereby striking at their local relevance.