Hi,

These are my views..i have very high respect for some people in certain ngos . I am also not doing this naive discount of ngos..not for profit companies.. I am saying this after understanding the significant contributions and struggles different ngos / not for profit companies / political parties have made to struggle in free software..and other political and social struggles...

However its very clear to me that the free software movement is not a single 'foundation' or 'ngo' or 'non profit company' or a single 'party' - but all of them can be part of the movement

many times - they democratically elect their leaders rather than by nomination : Gandhi was not nominated into leadership of the freedom movement nor was Medha Patkar ...

I remeber what the rural journalist P Sainath said .. "Freedom Struggle in India didnt happen because of NGOs"

Details below.

-S

Freedom Struggle of India - Is a mass movement : it had everybody in the country in it...from slum dwellers, village folks, artists, intellectuals, teachers , students..the Dalit movement in India in the last decade - is a mass movement..The Narmada Bachao Andolan - is a mass movement ..

- Mass movements have a sort of democratic structure, large number of people from different walks of life participate - and ellivate their consciousness - it represents some sort of churing of the society - and cannot be appropriated by one party, one company , one organisation , one ngo .....

A single non-profit company or NGO or political party is definitely not a mass movement.....though they contribute to it..

http://www.orissadiary.com/inerview/Sainath.asp

OD : As a rural journalist what are your views on N.G.Os and development?

P. Sainath : You can not find a single body called NGO, because there are many. The word NGO does not represent any single organization or entity; its amourphous. There are many good NGOs who are highly responsible for their people and there are some NGOs who are lagging on this regard.

OD : But on an average what is your view about them?

P. Sainath : On average I will say that many of them are not working sincerely. There are bad people in good NGOs and good people in Bad NGOs and bad people in bad NGOs too. But some of them are working in important areas and fields and potential is there to work. But I would like to see that if the NGOs, in stead of working on behalf of people, promote the spirit of self dependence among people, then its more an effective way.