*The BJP’s awkward embrace of Free Software *
**
http://www.hindu.com/2009/04/10/stories/2009041055960900.htm
Deepa Kurup
*The party’s discovery of the virtues of OS would appear to sit
uncomfortably with its slogan “Let a hundred Bangalores bloom.” *
The IT manifesto of the Bharatiya Janata Party has created ripples among
software circles with its support for Free and Open Source Software (FOSS),
and its opposition to “digital standards.” While the Kerala government has a
policy that makes the use of FOSS in government and education mandatory,
Tamil Nadu has implemented it in a few departments. Left parties have for
long backed the Free Software movement politically. It is surprising that
the BJP, with its strong pro-corporate and pro-patent leanings, should back
this cause.
Even as the Free Software community is celebrating this latest endorsement,
sceptics among its ranks are cautious about taking the BJP’s promises at
face value. Its track record, when in power at the Centre and in the States,
provides grounds for these misgivings.
Consider this. As late as January 2009, the BJP government in Gujarat, led
by Chief Minister Narendra Modi, inked a deal with the global proprietary
software giant Microsoft that includes a Microsoft-developed IT curriculum
for high school students, teacher training, certification programmes, and
offers free Microsoft software development tools to universities.
Less than two months on, the party manifesto in its “eEducation” section
declares: “We will actively promote Free and Open Source Software, including
operating systems, which will introduce the habit of innovation
(‘tinkering’) among students.” In fact, in 2006 the BJP government in
Rajasthan signed a similar deal with Microsoft under Project Shiksha, and in
2004, the BJP-JD(S) coalition in Karnataka, tied up with proprietary giant
for education and e-governance initiatives.
Prabir Purkayastha of the Delhi Science Forum feels the manifesto reflects
the “blinkered vision” of the BJP, which has “never taken an anti-monopoly
stance.” Dr. Purkayastha points out how Free Software circles are abuzz with
an interesting anomaly in L.K. Advani’s speech at the manifesto launch: “Mr.
Advani referred to how impressed he was on his visit to the Microsoft Office
in the U.S. He did not see the stark contradiction, as he proudly reflected
on the number of Indians present there!”
FOSS activists, however, hope this means increased visibility for their
cause, considering a large number of National E-governance Missions are in
the pipeline, for which Rs. 6000 crore has been earmarked in the 11th Five
Year Plan. The 40-page document also promises to set up an “IT
standards-setting body,” carving it out of the Bureau of Indian Standards,
and promises all government software will conform to these “open standards.”
Venkitesh Hariharan, a senior Red Hat official, says: “It is significant
because so far there hasn’t been any conscious effort towards policy making.
Public data and websites have been in both proprietary and open format.”
Digital standards
As for their new stance on “digital standards” — that is, proprietary
claims on algorithms and software programmes — the BJP-led National
Democratic Alliance government, notably, was the first to amend the Patent
Act in March 1999 and in June 2002 as part of the WTO agreement under Trade
Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The seemingly innocuous phrase
“software per se,” which the NDA government introduced into section 3(K) of
the Indian Patents Act, was a loophole through which software could be
brought under a patenting regime from a copyright one.
According to Dr. Purkayastha, the amendments had nothing to do with TRIPS
which does not even include software or computer programmes in its ambit. “A
2004 ordinance provided for patenting of computer programmes used in
combination with hardware. Later, while in the opposition the BJP opposed
the bill — even though it was virtually drafted by their Commerce Minister
Arun Jaitley. It was presented without any changes,” he says. This was
revoked in 2005 by the United Progressive Alliance under pressure from the
Left.
Corporates such as IT majors Infosys and TCS have long lobbied for patents.
When contacted, a senior spokesperson from Microsoft, a company that will be
hit hardest by an OS regime, told *The Hindu* that the company is
“encouraged by the focus on IT by political parties,” describing the policy
of the Government of India as one of “technology neutrality.”
The BJP’s discovery of the virtues of OS would appear to sit uncomfortably
with its slogan “Let a hundred Bangalores bloom.”
Rahul
>
> I dont trust Politicians. Previously Caste and Religion was used as
> Election manifesto, and its a pity now that the Opensource community is
> being dragged into politics.... Its not politicians, but we IT professionals
> who have promoted Open source Applications... Open Source Platform is for
> all and not a dependent on political promotion...
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Rahul Rai <rahul4unity(a)gmail.com>
> To: linuxers(a)mm.ilug-bom.org.in
> Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2009 23:28:50 +0530
> Subject: [ILUG-BOM] BJP's Akward embrace of free software
> *The BJP’s awkward embrace of Free Software *
>
> **
> http://www.hindu.com/2009/04/10/stories/2009041055960900.htm
>
> Deepa Kurup
>
> *The party’s discovery of the virtues of OS would appear to sit
> uncomfortably with its slogan “Let a hundred Bangalores bloom.” *
>
> The IT manifesto of the Bharatiya Janata Party has created ripples among
> software circles with its support for Free and Open Source Software (FOSS),
> and its opposition to “digital standards.” While the Kerala government has
> a
> policy that makes the use of FOSS in government and education mandatory,
> Tamil Nadu has implemented it in a few departments. Left parties have for
> long backed the Free Software movement politically. It is surprising that
> the BJP, with its strong pro-corporate and pro-patent leanings, should back
> this cause.
>
> Even as the Free Software community is celebrating this latest endorsement,
> sceptics among its ranks are cautious about taking the BJP’s promises at
> face value. Its track record, when in power at the Centre and in the
> States,
> provides grounds for these misgivings.
>
> Consider this. As late as January 2009, the BJP government in Gujarat, led
> by Chief Minister Narendra Modi, inked a deal with the global proprietary
> software giant Microsoft that includes a Microsoft-developed IT curriculum
> for high school students, teacher training, certification programmes, and
> offers free Microsoft software development tools to universities.
>
> Less than two months on, the party manifesto in its “eEducation” section
> declares: “We will actively promote Free and Open Source Software,
> including
> operating systems, which will introduce the habit of innovation
> (‘tinkering’) among students.” In fact, in 2006 the BJP government in
> Rajasthan signed a similar deal with Microsoft under Project Shiksha, and
> in
> 2004, the BJP-JD(S) coalition in Karnataka, tied up with proprietary giant
> for education and e-governance initiatives.
>
> Prabir Purkayastha of the Delhi Science Forum feels the manifesto reflects
> the “blinkered vision” of the BJP, which has “never taken an anti-monopoly
> stance.” Dr. Purkayastha points out how Free Software circles are abuzz
> with
> an interesting anomaly in L.K. Advani’s speech at the manifesto launch:
> “Mr.
> Advani referred to how impressed he was on his visit to the Microsoft
> Office
> in the U.S. He did not see the stark contradiction, as he proudly reflected
> on the number of Indians present there!”
>
> FOSS activists, however, hope this means increased visibility for their
> cause, considering a large number of National E-governance Missions are in
> the pipeline, for which Rs. 6000 crore has been earmarked in the 11th Five
> Year Plan. The 40-page document also promises to set up an “IT
> standards-setting body,” carving it out of the Bureau of Indian Standards,
> and promises all government software will conform to these “open
> standards.”
>
>
> Venkitesh Hariharan, a senior Red Hat official, says: “It is significant
> because so far there hasn’t been any conscious effort towards policy
> making.
> Public data and websites have been in both proprietary and open format.”
> Digital standards
>
> As for their new stance on “digital standards” — that is, proprietary
> claims on algorithms and software programmes — the BJP-led National
> Democratic Alliance government, notably, was the first to amend the Patent
> Act in March 1999 and in June 2002 as part of the WTO agreement under Trade
> Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The seemingly innocuous
> phrase
> “software per se,” which the NDA government introduced into section 3(K) of
> the Indian Patents Act, was a loophole through which software could be
> brought under a patenting regime from a copyright one.
>
> According to Dr. Purkayastha, the amendments had nothing to do with TRIPS
> which does not even include software or computer programmes in its ambit.
> “A
> 2004 ordinance provided for patenting of computer programmes used in
> combination with hardware. Later, while in the opposition the BJP opposed
> the bill — even though it was virtually drafted by their Commerce Minister
> Arun Jaitley. It was presented without any changes,” he says. This was
> revoked in 2005 by the United Progressive Alliance under pressure from the
> Left.
>
> Corporates such as IT majors Infosys and TCS have long lobbied for patents.
> When contacted, a senior spokesperson from Microsoft, a company that will
> be
> hit hardest by an OS regime, told *The Hindu* that the company is
> “encouraged by the focus on IT by political parties,” describing the policy
> of the Government of India as one of “technology neutrality.”
>
> The BJP’s discovery of the virtues of OS would appear to sit uncomfortably
> with its slogan “Let a hundred Bangalores bloom.”
> Rahul
>
>
> --
> http://mm.glug-bom.org/mailman/listinfo/linuxers
>
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Hi India,
I set up a Facebook profile where I can post my pictures, videos and events and I want to add you as a friend so you can see it. First, you need to join Facebook! Once you join, you can also create your own profile.
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Dear All,
How can I get real-time reports from squid?
I'm using squid3 on Ubuntu Server 8.04
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sameer Shinde.
M:- +91 98204 61580
Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the one who asked why.
Hi,
A friend has a strange problem that I have been unable to solve, so
I thought I'd canvas for suggestions here.
Since the last week or so, he has been unable to log in to Facebook
or Hotmail from Ubuntu. He has a dual-boot machine with Ubuntu 8.04
and Windows XP. He is connected via a MTNL Triband connection. Both
sites still work fine in XP. Other sites work fine in Ubuntu. He's
tried several alternate browsers besides Firefox, including Opera,
SeaMonkey, etc. but has the same problem there. Sometimes the login
page on Hotmail loads up, but logging in doesn't produce any response.
In Facebook again, sometimes the login page loads, but doesn't work.
In SeaMonkey, sometimes logging in to Facebook does proceed to the
home page, but then no other links work.
I have tried googling, but no satisfactory solution showed up.
Suggestions included clearing the cache/cookies (no effect & in any
case multiple browsers makes this unlikely), changing DNS servers
(tried both MTNL & OpenDNS, and in any case they're the same servers
as set under Windows), and even checking the Java install (I really
doubt MS uses Java on the Hotmail page, but I tried it anyway).
Ping times of both sites seem normal.
Any further lines of inquiry would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Chirag Wazir
http://chirag.freeshell.org
Hello,
Are you frustrated with network setups in KDE?
Do you spend long hours trying to figure out just how to get your
network device up in KDE?
Are you fed up with knetwork-manager not displaying your network devices?
Have you spent sleepless nights trying to figure out knetwork-manager
but met with no success due to unavailability of proper configuration files?
Well! Don't fret, don't fume, don't bang your head on the wall, just
throw out knetworkmanager and install wicd.
Reboot your system and you will get a network icon in the system tray.
On opening its window your devices will be listed. Next to each device,
on the left is a tiny arrow button that almost gets unnoticed but
clicking on that arrow will drop down details for setting up each
device, wired or wireless. For wpa wireless setup, in the preferences
section select the correct wireless driver. If one doesen't work, try
all others till your connection gets established. In my Acer Travelmate
2428, for Lenny, the Intel 2200 device used the ipw2200 driver with a
manually added firmware but in wicd, instead of 'ipw', I had to use
'wext' to get proper authenticaton, so once you set your passphrase and
encryption type (wep, wpa, ....) try out all drivers if the default does
not work.
--
Regards,
Rony.
GNU/Linux !
No Viruses
No Spyware
Only Freedom.
Hi,
Kenneth Gonsalves wrote:
> somebody else's ubuntu machine. Yours for example?
Both sites work fine in general on other ubuntu machines. I've used both
the sites on 7.10, 8.04 & 8.10, all on triband connections. So it isn't
any generic ubuntu/mtnl issue.
Balwinder Singh wrote:
> Capture packets (using tcpdump) and try to understand
> what is happening.
I'll try that.
I only have intermittent remote desktop access to the machine - so I
have to be careful not to make any mistake that completely borks the
networking. :-)
Rony wrote:
> Just for kicks, try another browser like Konquerar or Opera.
I have already tried 4 browsers. All have the same problem.
Chirag Wazir
http://chirag.freeshell.org
Hi,
Raj Mathur wrote:
> See if turning ECN off helps:
> You could also play around with /proc/sys/net/ipv4/tcp_syncookies
I tried out toggling all combinations of tcp_ecn & tcp_syncookies -
makes no difference.
I also asked him to try a LiveCD, but his LiveCD seems to have gotten
scratched/corrupt, so that's not going to be possible for a while.
Chirag Wazir
http://chirag.freeshell.org
Hi,
Pankaj Jangid wrote:
> To be precise: (1) The website doesn't load or (2) He is
> just not able to Login into the site?
Sometimes the login page doesn't load - the browser just waits.
Other times the login page appears but after entering the login/passwd
and pressing Submit, it doesn't respond. The browser just sits there,
the percentage bar moves for a while and nothing happens. Usually after
a longish while he gets a timeout error on the browser - i.e.
"Server did not respond"....
Chirag Wazir
http://chirag.freeshell.org
Hi,
Thanks for all the responses. I shall try them and reply if anything
works. Might take a while though - remote access is often tedious.
Kenneth Gonsalves wrote:
> Can he log in from ubuntu from some other machine?
He has only one machine.
Harsh Busa wrote:
> if you can try to use a live cd of ubuntu or some other linux
> based flavor you might be able to find some headway.
Yes, I'll try that. Unfortunately, I very strongly suspect
it'll work on the Live CD & that won't tell me anything then. :-)
Raj Mathur wrote:
> See if turning ECN off helps:
> You could also play around with /proc/sys/net/ipv4/tcp_syncookies
Since I've never tried that, it sounds like a good possibility, thanks. :-)
Rony wrote:
> Has he added a wireless router to his ADSL modem?
Nope, just a direct, single ethernet cable to the modem.
scrapo wrote:
> I do not know what other sites you have tried, but facebook
> has an exceptionally high amount of Javascript, ......
Ah but if that was the problem, other browsers should work. And I did
clean out cookies & cache to make sure. As I said, the problem is in
all installed browsers. And the sites used to work fine till last week.
Chirag Wazir
http://chirag.freeshell.org
