58 SOCIAL SCIENTIST the vanaspati industry for the small affluent section. Secondly, with respect to fighting protein malnutrition, it will make little contribution, as shown above, and the protein will largely go again to the luxury sector, and perhaps partly for export. As a matter of fact, if soyabean does replace groundnut and the pulses even partly, as it is most likely to do, the availability of protein to the poor people will decrease, not increase. Thirdly, under the present socio-economic conditions soyabean processing would of course also involve import of technology and machinery, as indeed is going to happen in the Faridabad case. That this was planned is obvious from the fact that otherwise the planners, if they had still decided to go in for soyabean, could surely have undertaken at least a crash programme for developing soyabean technology in the country in the 5-10 years' lead time that they had. But, naturally, this was not even mentioned anywhere. Probably, since science is Universal', why develop a technology again that is already available elsewhere ? More so if it happens to be American—which is the 'most modern' and Sophisticated' and therefore necessarily the most desirable ? Was it not then precisely (a) to push this technology into India and to keep us tied to their, as well as to other soyabean, technologies to be imported in due course, and (b) to further promote the luxury sector in the country, that soyabean has been patiently promoted in India all these years ? All this is not to say that soyabean has no place in the country. That it can be grown in certain parts of the country with profit, there is no doubt. That under appropriate socio-economic conditions, and as a supplement to groundnut and pulses, its production can be beneficial, is also obvious. But two prerequisites to this are : (a) indigenous research for its utilisation by fully indigenous techniques and indigenous equipment, and (b) an effective socio-political climate to ensure its utilisation for the good of the common people rather than for a luxury sector or 'export'. This latter condition can be met, for instance, by ensuring that all children are enabled to attend school and then making the product available for free school feeding. Till such time, soyabean can only bring harm to the people at large. Scientist's Role The tragedy is that this consummation has been achieved with the full support and unwitting abetment of Indian scientists themselves. And why not? Is not science neutral? Are not scientists required and even admonished to see only the 'scientific' aspects? Are they not supposed to concern themselves only with the frontiers of knowledge and 'quality' of research? If it so happens that the talk of protein malnutrition in general, and that of soyabean in particular, is in the air, if soyabean research and publications thereon are respectable, if it gets recognition and may be promotion, if it gets easy grants and equipment from munificient foundations, if it also gets foreign fellowships and easy seminars and per-