Any distribution that makes it tedious to redistribute, either by using trade marks or other legal impediments that prevent the joy of sharing free software, may simply be rejected as non-existent. The propaganda as though there is no life without a particular distribution does not take into consideration the long history and achievements of the free software movement. Akshya sets goals like availability of an intrenet connection and PC within 2KM range of every household in the State of Kerala. Using free software in such a project should indeed be highly desirable and if the distribution chosen by the project is unfit for the purpose for more reasons than which meets our eyes, what are the alternative distributions available to a project like Akshaya that aims at taking technology nearer to the common man?
At this point, we should also discuss, how a more equitable sharing of resources could be achieved. Many of the core utilities like gcc, gdb, fileutils and other shells are developed and maintained by the GNU Project. X, the GUI base in free software is possible only because of the XFree86 project. Nobody thanks or thinks of them. There are several project teams that develop utilities that make free software work well for a wide range of users and platforms. The self-less service of the developer teams of these projects are the real blood and sweat behind free software, and almost all these projects will survive only with substantial support. Since states have started taking an interest in free software, it would be an ideal time to address this issue also, as to how states could make better use of free software, and how atleast a portion of the substantial savings over choosing non-free software could go towards supporting various free software projects.