RMS met the President and had discussions with him. A press release issued by FSF India on this matter is given below: FREE SOFTWARE FOUNDATION OF INDIA PRESS RELEASE January 29, 2004 Richard Stallman meets the President of India Dr. Richard M Stallman, world-renowned software guru and founder of the Free Software Foundation (FSF), had a meeting with His Excellency the President of India, Bharat Ratna Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam at 2:15 pm today. The meeting took place at the Rashrapati Bhavan, official residence of the President of India. At the meeting, Dr. Stallman explained to Dr. Kalam the ethical issues related to the use of proprietary software. The President was impressed by the issues raised by Dr. Stallman. It is understood that the President has instructed for the use of free softwaree for his IT facilities. Dr. Stallman also discussed the issues of using proprietary software in schools, which prevents children from sharing and learning to share. Implications of IT@School project in Kerala also got mention. Stallman's meeting with the president took place in the backdrop of support for free and open source software extended by the president at a public speech recently. Dr Stallman has been in India from January 16th. His programmes included the World Social Forum in Mumbai from January 16 to 22, lectures at Thrissur, Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, and meetings with various government officials in the state regarding the use of free software in government initiatives. Further information on the Free Software Foundation and its Indian chapter can be obtained from the web sites: http://www.gnu.org and http://gnu.org.in. Free Software Foundation, India. Press Contact Email : gnu(a)gnu.org.in Phone : 094470 34795 -- V. Sasi Kumar <vsasi(a)vsnl.com> CESS