ABSTRACT
Janaki was back in India in January 1950 having accepted Nehru’s offer of appointment as a Director of Agriculture (Special Scientific Advisor to the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India), but she would continue to remain attached to the RHS Wisley as cytologist. She was on a short-term contract (she would not have it any other way) with the government, which was keen on using her expertise to tackle the agricultural issues and food scarcity facing the nation. However, within a short spell she would become deeply frustrated with the bureaucracy and its red tape and because so much was being done unscientifically; she saw that ‘valuable forests’ were being destroyed in the name of the Grow More Food campaign. Despite being promised a very handsome salary, she would not want to stay on. She disliked being a public figure, and longed for the quiet of her attic flat. At the end of three months, she would return to England.
