Hi all,

My strategy may not be acceptable to IT experts. May be because I am a teacher and not a software professional. But I have realized how we are being exploited by proprietary giants. I would think promoting FOSS is not my cup of tea. So I waited several years with the hope that FOSS will be everywhere soon. But that was a mistake. I thought there were experts all from IIT, TIFR and IISC. They are all capable of bringing FOSS and will make our country proud and digitally independent.

But my observation taught me that linux has become a style statement. Working on terminal was considered as difficult and something that a common man should not do and stick to Windows. All young experts (few exceptions) are now looking for Google, Oracle packages rather than working in villages and teaching poor people.

The fight now has come to a common man like me who cannot speak in technical jargons like you but works little bit on computers. The problem seemed political and not which linux is good or bad.

It is a political fight and not technical so your question which is better seems irrelevant to me. How we can attack those hard skin politicians is my problem. You take a round in Mantralaya and you will observe that almost everyone is paid by Mircrosoft.

In a FOSS workshop in IIT, I saw a FOSS expert (fed by government and Microsoft) giving polished lectures and saying that today we can write an operating system in a couple of days. A student asked, sir how many OS's have you written ? That was quite an embarrassing question for him !

I heard about BOSS on 31 Jan 2015. I searched on internet and was shocked ! It was 2006 when BOSS started. I saw government itself fooling people by praising BOSS everywhere but in small news papers and also not willing to implement it. The name BHARAT is a magical name. So on 31 Jan 15, I decided to exploit it. Perhaps that is the strongest point of my activity. I just checked that BOSS is workable. I am a common man and I have been using BOSS 5.0 (Anokha) straight 10 months without touching windows, doing all the work and little programing. Of course without anti virus.

So I can show bharat proudly on my laptop or desktop at my home and in my workplace (SIWS college) doing all regular work. Showing Tiranga waving on it !

It is a child of our motherland (don't be upset, I know it is not fully Indian but for a common man I do say it). Even if her child is ugly, mother still loves it. Mother will never discard her child but nourish it accepting as it is. That is my simple view and surprisingly it works as I expected.

If you give thousand lectures on FOSS. People will clap and give you flowers and thats all. If there are only lectures, Microsoft will arrange parties one after the other. They are not at all worried. But I am doing installations and that is too in education institutes It is something that Microsoft won't like. See my condition - Use free Result software only after installing BOSS in your school or college on at least two computers and also work is to be done on BOSS only. We have already tested the whole result process on BOSS. (Also for other linux versions, there is a chance that school/college heads may refuse installing other OS. But Bharat as an official government OS and also recommended for schools, they cannot openly resist it, if teachers demand)

We cannot install BOSS on all PC's simply because Microsoft product names are there in syllabus. So on the other hand, my PIL exactly prays that - remove proprietary names from curriculum. Government will try to prolong the PIL. But I am prepared for that also. I am waiting for politicians to pronounce BHARAT, they have to do it (reluctantly) because it is a part of "make in india". I have done correspondence with PMO requesting to advertise BOSS on television since BOSS is a part of "Make in India". They are not responding and also not denying my request ! Another RTI is ready to be filed in a couple of weeks to PMO as a part of my fight. Note that I can collect important government documents supporting BOSS. Which is not possible for other linux flavors.

Now that government has official support for boss, said that it is perfect, (I have official letters from government) so that will work nicely in court not the reality. If I fight for Ubuntu or FOSS in general, I am not going to win. For example, they will bring thousand ( paid) experts claiming in court that Ubuntu is inferior to Windows. They will not dare to say Bharat is bad and Microsoft is good in public, it will affect their political TRP ! Also their own documents (incorrectly !) say that BHARAT is the best system in the world ! But it is going to work in the court. Our legal system is like that. I think I am going to trap them in their own net.

My lawyer Shree V P Patil is a retired justice (72). He is a great person. At this age he is working with me day and night without charging any fees. When he says that we are surely going to win, certainly that makes some sense !

My aim is clear. Removing proprietary software from this country, literally by any means, boss or otherwise. After that we will discuss which linux flavour to use or use different falvors for different work etc. You people can decide better than me. I am just unable to answer your technical questions. Your suggestions may not be in accordance with my plan, implement them in your own way. I am really happy. If you believe in my path, please do join us.

For the time being, BOSS is a perfect partner for me and may be to a common man like me. I am going to fight. I am just doing my duty as a teacher, nothing else. There are forks and we all are free to choose any.

regards and best of luck.

Milind