When was FSF India started, and what led up to its inception?

FSF India was inaugurated by Richard Stallman at Thiruvananthapuram, in a Conference called Freedom First on July 20, 2001. This came about because several people took keen interest in the new operating system called 'Linux' and in the type-setting programme called LaTeX. As they got to know more about the ideological and ethical aspects of the software, many of them were attracted to it and thought about starting a Free Software Foundation of India. A movement called Freedevelopers, which eventually died out, also helped in drawing many people to the ideology of Free Software.

The full interview here.

http://blue-gnu.biz/content/fsf_india_039_s_impact_far_reaching

Cheers Praveen