Nagarjuna wrote:

After Ramanraj submits the draft the board will be more than pleased to review it and make it official if necessary. We do need to be more proactive in matters of this kind. And after the draft is approved we can also send it as a press release.

An official memorandum submitted through the FSF India will carry great weight and demand a more serious consideration from CSIR. I do hope enough serious thinking research scholars, who would be directly benefited at once through these efforts, could participate in this discussion and offer valuable suggestions.

Since the memorandum is to be submitted to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, [CSIR], that is headed by the Prime Minister of our country, and a body of scientists and research scholars, we need to maintain the highest standards possible while putting together the requests. Contributors may briefly give their qualifications and other details so that CSIR may get in touch with them without delay if it would like to follow up a suggestion seriously.

I am a lawyer by profession, practising since 1990 in the Madras High Court, and I take interest in free software in my free time. I did my B.L. [5 years integrated, 1985-90] at the Madras Law College. Then I did my M.L [1990-92] in International Law and Constitutional Law at the University of Madras, and passed in the First Class, ranking First in the University and was awarded the M.K. Nambiar Gold Medal, the A.L. Mudaliar Prize, and L.C. Miller Medal. I also qualified the UGC National Level Test for JRF and Lectureship in 1992. My personal web site is at http://personal.vsnl.com/ramanraj I enthusiastically support the free software movement, and believe that the movement will radically change the way we live life. I will mostly take care of the form and shape of the memorandum, but the substantial content has to necessarily come from the qualified experts here.

First of all a few requests to the contributors:

1) Please send points, with valid reasons and examples, along with what action is desired by the poster from the CSIR. Since this is a public open list, please remember that postings are archived at http://www.gnu.org.in/pipermail/fsf-discuss/2004-January/ and can be viewed threadwise etc. Each posting may be confined to a specific point along with request giving an approriate subject heading for easy reference in future. Even, if your posting is edited for brevity, any one interested will always be able to visit the archives and read your view in full. So, kindly take the time and effort to make your posting as useful as possible with references and links to substantiate your request.

2) Please understand how mail list threading works, and post your views so that the thread view gives a clear picture of the points and issues at a glance. Ideally, if you are raising a new point, reply to this email. If you are only adding to a point already raised, reply to that email specifically, giving a suitable unique heading. Correct threading will greatly simplify the work of putting the draft memorandum together.

3) This exercise in itself is an example of how free software works and evolves. We could include a request to CSIR to use GNU Mailman for its activities. A visit to the fsf archives should self evidently convince CSIR about the utility of GNU Mailman.

4) Though there could be no time limits for a memorandum of this nature, it would be nice if we could put it together in a weeks time. So, please send the content you would like to be included in the draft memorandum to be sent to CSIR on or before 18th January, 2004. I propose giving the memorandum the heading "Putting Free Software to use at CSIR".

I am awaiting your response in this regard. Thanks in advance for your kind co-operation.

Regards, K. Ramanraj.

Mahesh T. Pai wrote:

OTOH, will the scientific community brook interference by `outsiders' into its `affairs'? I mean, it is one thing for the FSF to help in drawing up a memorandum; and quite another for FSF to send it.

Lest I am misunderstood; let me clarify that I am just pointing out another aspect of the issue. I fully support the suggestion that memorandum be sent by the FSF. This will have the advantage of not having to `expose' scientists not willing to speak up for fear of the `establishment'.

At best, a memorandum is persuasive. We ought to assume that CSIR would be open to views of the free software community and consider our requests. I visited http://www.patestate.com/ and understood that we have undertaken a very difficult task, that could be achieved only by FSF-India, after long discussions with CSIR and not through any simple memorandums. Given the current policy of CSIR, advocating the philosophy of the free software movement to CSIR may require a more sustained effort on our part. Fortunately, we already have the free software philosophy ingrained in us through our very rich ancient philosophy and traditions, and therefore, it is only natural that we can expect CSIR to shift its policy towards free software rapidly. "Truth Triumphs" is our national motto, and it is also the foundation for scientific thinking. Since we always confine our discussions to issues pertaining to use of free software, there is no question of exposing anyone or fearing the establishment.

Contributors may briefly give their qualifications and other

Did you mean people who sign the memorandum? ...

If you really mean people whose inputs go into the body of the memorandum; I do not quite see why their qualifications or backgrounds matter; nor do I see why the CSIR should talk to them; they should get in touch with the people who send it; in this case, the FSF India, as I gather.

By contributors, we mean the members of this list who join this thread. This memorandum could be a paperless affair, and we could send the memorandum to CSIR by email, along with links pointing to www.gnu.org and the fsf-discuss archive. To give credibility to the memorandum, it is necessary to disclose identity and qualifications when making suggestions to a high scientific body like CSIR. Anonymous requests by faceless entities can usually be ignored without assigning reasons.

After all, it is only because people do not want to disclose their identities that they seek to `hide' behind organisations.

Anyway, if it is a mass memo the signatories will put their signature and names to it. It is not?

FSF-India openly promotes free software and could directly take steps, and I guess that this exercise could make things easy for the future. The ilugc inspires me a great deal, because they bring free software philosophy to life through action - organising live demos and fortnightly meets. The IIT's are very much a part of the scientific community, and probably the academic community there has contributed very substantially to the growth of the free software culture in India. A hands on approach is very much required to promote free software, and providing links to people who could directly help is very important to convince CSIR to move in the direction of the free software movement. CDAC and several other govt. organisations openly use and support free software. Anil of Appropriate Technology Promotion Society (ATPS) wrote about the efforts at Kannur to convince NIC to adopt use of free software. We should highlight these examples and persuade CSIR to adopt using free software for its activities.

A better idea will be for you to post a working draft; and list will discuss it ... please do put up a draft so that we may discuss it.

Let us put in a working draft after a week after receiving points and requests. But, if you already have a working draft in mind, please send it, so that it could be discussed.

Regards, K. Ramanraj.