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.