A draft FOSS manifesto for Indian political parties
http://osindia.blogspot.com/2009/02/draft-foss-manifesto-for-indian.html
With elections approaching in April 2009, it was time to create a draft FOSS manifesto for Indian political parties. This is a first draft and I have written this keeping in mind that most Indian politicians would not be familiar with FOSS. Hence, the usage of simple language that anyone can understand. If you feel that any section here needs improvement, please let me know. Comments/suggestions welcome.
venky ====
A draft FOSS manifesto for Indian political parties
The Free and Open Source Software community in India calls upon political parties to make FOSS usage and promotion a central part of the IT, e-government and education plans in their election manifestos. FOSS is software which is liberally licensed to grant the right of users to study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code. The open, inclusive and participatory nature of FOSS is a natural fit for the vibrant traditions of Indian democracy. Since software is the foundation of the knowledge economy, India's IT infrastructure should be built on FOSS and not on closed, proprietary software systems.
We believe that encouragement of FOSS will result in:
* Development of the domestic IT industry * Creation of jobs * Encouragement of skills development and upgradation * Enable localization of software to Indian languages * Reduction of India's dependence on monopolistic proprietary software vendors * Encourage the usage of open standards * Bridging the digital divide * Rapid modernization and computerization of India's education system * Technology upgradation of India's Small and Medium Enterprises * Efficient usage of budget outlays for e-government * Faster technology development through Collaborative Innovation
We call upon political parties in India to support the Indian FOSS community by:
1. Encouraging the use of FOSS in Indian education system. This will inculcate the virtues of collaboration, sharing and participation in children from a very young age and make computerization of schools affordable. 2. Eliminating proprietary software from the education syllabus and making the syllabus vendor-neutral, thus giving teachers and students the choice of software that suits their budgets and needs. 3. Using FOSS in e-government to the maximum possible extent and ensuring that government tenders are open and do not favor proprietary software vendors. All software developed with tax-payers money should be released under a FOSS license to encourage collaboration; and the sharing of code and best practices. 4. Mandating the usage of open standards that are free from royalties and vendor lock-in so that the interaction between the government and citizens happens in a free and open manner befitting a democracy. 5. Encouraging freely shareable, FOSS based knowledge repositories like Wikipedia in Indian languages. 6. Encouraging the usage of the collaborative model of FOSS in scientific research. Science thrives on collaboration and the sharing of knowledge. The current trend of privatizing knowledge leads to secrecy in science and reduces collaboration. We must use the FOSS model based on collaboration, community and shared ownership of knowledge to spark a renaissance of knowledge in India. 7. Eliminating software and business method patents that have lead to huge amounts of litigation in developed countries. Indian traditions have held that knowledge grows by sharing and diminishes when hoarded. Patents on software and business methods grant undue monopolies on ideas and prevent independent invention and the sharing of knowledge.
India has one of the most youthful populations in the world and it is important that they have access to the tools with which the information society is built. The freedom to modify the source code, the ability to share knowledge and build communities make Free and Open Source Software the best, long-term model for India's development. We therefore urge all political parties to encourage the usage of FOSS for India's development.
On Thursday 05 February 2009 18:41, Venkatesh Hariharan wrote:
A draft FOSS manifesto for Indian political parties
http://osindia.blogspot.com/2009/02/draft-foss-manifesto-for-indian .html
With elections approaching in April 2009, it was time to create a draft FOSS manifesto for Indian political parties. This is a first draft and I have written this keeping in mind that most Indian politicians would not be familiar with FOSS. Hence, the usage of simple language that anyone can understand. If you feel that any section here needs improvement, please let me know. Comments/suggestions welcome.
venky
A draft FOSS manifesto for Indian political parties
The Free and Open Source Software community in India calls upon political parties to make FOSS usage and promotion a central part of the IT, e-government and education plans in their election manifestos. FOSS is software which is liberally licensed to grant the right of users to study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code. The open, inclusive and participatory nature of FOSS is a natural fit for the vibrant traditions of Indian democracy
for the vibrant Indian tradition of knowledge sharing and democracy
. Since software is the foundation of the knowledge economy, India's IT infrastructure should be built on FOSS and not on closed, proprietary software systems.
We believe that encouragement of FOSS will result in:
* Development of the domestic IT industry * Creation of jobs * Encouragement of skills development and upgradation * Enable localization of software to Indian languages * Reduction of India's dependence on monopolistic proprietarysoftware vendors * Encourage the usage of open standards * Bridging the digital divide * Rapid modernization and computerization of India's education system * Technology upgradation of India's Small and Medium Enterprises * Efficient usage of budget outlays for e-government * Faster technology development through Collaborative Innovation
We call upon political parties in India to support the Indian FOSS community by:
- Encouraging the use of FOSS in Indian education system. This
will inculcate the virtues of collaboration, sharing and participation in children from a very young age and make computerization of schools affordable. 2. Eliminating proprietary software from the education syllabus and making the syllabus vendor-neutral, thus giving teachers and students the choice of software that suits their budgets and needs. 3. Using FOSS in e-government to the maximum possible extent and ensuring that government tenders are open and do not favor proprietary software vendors. All software developed with tax-payers money should be released under a FOSS license to encourage collaboration; and the sharing of code and best practices. 4. Mandating the usage of open standards that are free from royalties and vendor lock-in so that the interaction between the government and citizens happens in a free and open manner befitting a democracy. 5. Encouraging freely shareable, FOSS based knowledge repositories like Wikipedia in Indian languages. 6. Encouraging the usage of the collaborative model of FOSS in scientific research. Science thrives on collaboration and the sharing of knowledge. The current trend of privatizing knowledge leads to secrecy in science and reduces collaboration. We must use the FOSS model based on collaboration, community and shared ownership of knowledge to spark a renaissance of knowledge in India. 7. Eliminating software and business method patents that have
Eliminate ambiguities in Indian patent law which allow surreptitious grant of software and Bussiness method patents. Such patents
lead to huge amounts of litigation in developed countries. Indian traditions have held that knowledge grows by sharing and diminishes when hoarded. Patents on software and business methods grant undue monopolies on ideas and prevent independent invention and the sharing of knowledge.
India has one of the most youthful populations in the world and it is important that they have access to the tools with which the information society is built. The freedom to
to freely distribute these software tools,
modify the source code, the ability to share knowledge and build communities make Free and Open Source Software the best, long-term model for India's development. We therefore urge all political parties to encourage the usage of FOSS for India's development.
- Encouraging the use of FOSS in Indian education system. This
will inculcate the virtues of collaboration, sharing and participation in children from a very young age and make computerization of schools affordable.
try to also incorporate technical education and learning by doing as the ultimate objective in schools and colleges.
2. Eliminating proprietary software from the education syllabus and
making the syllabus vendor-neutral, thus giving teachers and students the choice of software that suits their budgets and needs.
syllabus should be concept driven rather than product driven.
3. Using FOSS in e-government to the maximum possible extent and
ensuring that government tenders are open and do not favor proprietary software vendors. All software developed with tax-payers money should be released under a FOSS license to encourage collaboration; and the sharing of code and best practices.
- Mandating the usage of open standards that are free from
royalties and vendor lock-in so that the interaction between the government and citizens happens in a free and open manner befitting a democracy.
are you trying to point at the cost?
5. Encouraging freely shareable, FOSS based knowledge repositories
like Wikipedia in Indian languages.
too technical or a project like can delete this point
- Encouraging the usage of the collaborative model of FOSS in
scientific research. Science thrives on collaboration and the sharing of knowledge. The current trend of privatizing knowledge leads to secrecy in science and reduces collaboration. We must use the FOSS model based on collaboration, community and shared ownership of knowledge to spark a renaissance of knowledge in India.
yes good point you can say knowledge societies in future or something ....
7. Eliminating software and business method patents that have lead
to huge amounts of litigation in developed countries. Indian traditions have held that knowledge grows by sharing and diminishes when hoarded. Patents on software and business methods grant undue monopolies on ideas and prevent independent invention and the sharing of knowledge.
On Fri, Feb 6, 2009 at 2:46 AM, satyaakam goswami satyaakam@gmail.com wrote:
- Encouraging the use of FOSS in Indian education system. This
will inculcate the virtues of collaboration, sharing and participation in children from a very young age and make computerization of schools affordable.
try to also incorporate technical education and learning by doing as the ultimate objective in schools and colleges.
That gets into pedagogy and education policy rather that "ICT in education" policy so I think we should avoid it.
- Eliminating proprietary software from the education syllabus and
making the syllabus vendor-neutral, thus giving teachers and students the choice of software that suits their budgets and needs.
syllabus should be concept driven rather than product driven.
Excellent point!
- Using FOSS in e-government to the maximum possible extent and
ensuring that government tenders are open and do not favor proprietary software vendors. All software developed with tax-payers money should be released under a FOSS license to encourage collaboration; and the sharing of code and best practices.
- Mandating the usage of open standards that are free from
royalties and vendor lock-in so that the interaction between the government and citizens happens in a free and open manner befitting a democracy.
are you trying to point at the cost?
No. Free as in Freedom :-)
- Encouraging freely shareable, FOSS based knowledge repositories
like Wikipedia in Indian languages.
too technical or a project like can delete this point
- Encouraging the usage of the collaborative model of FOSS in
scientific research. Science thrives on collaboration and the sharing of knowledge. The current trend of privatizing knowledge leads to secrecy in science and reduces collaboration. We must use the FOSS model based on collaboration, community and shared ownership of knowledge to spark a renaissance of knowledge in India.
yes good point you can say knowledge societies in future or something ....
- Eliminating software and business method patents that have lead
to huge amounts of litigation in developed countries. Indian traditions have held that knowledge grows by sharing and diminishes when hoarded. Patents on software and business methods grant undue monopolies on ideas and prevent independent invention and the sharing of knowledge.
-Satya http://www.linkedin.com/in/satyaakam -- http://mm.glug-bom.org/mailman/listinfo/linuxers
Venkatesh Hariharan wrote:
A draft FOSS manifesto for Indian political parties
http://osindia.blogspot.com/2009/02/draft-foss-manifesto-for-indian.html
With elections approaching in April 2009, it was time to create a draft FOSS manifesto for Indian political parties. This is a first draft and I have written this keeping in mind that most Indian politicians would not be familiar with FOSS. Hence, the usage of simple language that anyone can understand. If you feel that any section here needs improvement, please let me know. Comments/suggestions welcome.
venky
A draft FOSS manifesto for Indian political parties
It is a good effort, but the document is too technical and does not explain why all the goals mentioned in it cannot be achieved by closed software. Those politicians who can read and write will not understand it and ask their IT guys for their opinion. If their IT guys are aware of FOSS, they will give a positive response otherwise they will recommend what they are comfortable with.
On Thursday 05 Feb 2009 6:41:41 pm Venkatesh Hariharan wrote:
A draft FOSS manifesto for Indian political parties
The Free and Open Source Software community in India calls upon political parties to make FOSS usage and promotion a central part of the IT, e-government and education plans in their election manifestos.
The idea is a good one - but the approach is wrong. Are we demanding this to be done or are we selling the idea to them? Any politician who reads this will turn to his PA and ask who are the members of this community, how many votes do they have and who are their leaders. Answer - membership is ill defined, most of them don't vote anyway - and if they did, impact is negligible and they don't have any leaders or representatives.
Politicians don't make policy - they follow the leader who can get them elected. And the leaders follow policies that will get them votes - or some such benefit. In my experience one of the best ways of convincing them is to show them that other countries are doing it and are getting a head start over us. Point to Munich opting for FOSS - it is a western city eminently suitable for a study tour ;-). China, Brazil, South Africa are all getting ahead of us.
NASA uses FOSS - the state of Hawaii runs on FOSS etc etc.
Once the attention of a particular leader is got - he hands the thing to his advisers who may be fairly literate. Here we need massive paperwork to impress them - a good starting point is: http://nrcfosshelpline.in/playing/InitialComments
With community effort it is easy to build a good document. This LUG has shown that spirit once when the Linux Brochure was made. Maybe it can do it again? Calling on them to do it in the name of a community that is impossible to define will make all the signatories feel good - but will be filed in the waste paper basket.
What is described above is known as lobbying - in America it is professionally done, here shortcuts are used, but we do not have the finances for shortcuts. So if we want to do it, we have to do it the hard way.
On Saturday 07 Feb 2009 9:56:33 am Kenneth Gonsalves wrote:
Politicians don't make policy - they follow the leader who can get them elected.
interestingly enough Advani's website is advertised on sourceforge and this company has built it:
so that is one party that appears FOSS conscious.
interestingly enough Advani's website is advertised on sourceforge and this company has built it:
so that is one party that appears FOSS conscious
Just because someone uses FOSS does not mean they support FOSS. Think about this: BJP/Advani supporting 'Freedom of thought'. It would revolutionise them.
On Sat, Feb 7, 2009 at 10:45 PM, Vikram Vincent vincentvikram@gmail.comwrote:
interestingly enough Advani's website is advertised on sourceforge and
this
company has built it:
so that is one party that appears FOSS conscious
Just because someone uses FOSS does not mean they support FOSS. Think about this: BJP/Advani supporting 'Freedom of thought'. It would revolutionise them.
Vincent agreed but this is something i remember being already discussed on ilugc list before .
On Sat, Feb 7, 2009 at 10:45 PM, Vikram Vincent vincentvikram@gmail.comwrote:
interestingly enough Advani's website is advertised on sourceforge and
this
company has built it:
so that is one party that appears FOSS conscious
Just because someone uses FOSS does not mean they support FOSS. Think about this: BJP/Advani supporting 'Freedom of thought'. It would revolutionise them.
hmm after i posted last on this thread did some digging and found this http://www.lkadvani.in/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=1302 thread thought should share it in the context of Political parties being consumers lets wait and watch can they produce ? or at least create a level playing ground for the same again we have to Hope..... Venky's efforts are directed towards educating the political parties.
-Satya
Ok folks. Sorry for the long delay. I was out for a few weeks in God's Own Country and one of the first things I after returning to Mumbai did is edit this based on inputs from this group (thanks to JT D'Souza, Satyakam Goswami, Mahesh Pai, Lawrence Gonsalves and Rony for their suggestions/expert comments).
I suggest that we put this up on a wiki and get FOSS supporters across the country to sign this. The more the number of signatures, the more seriously political parties will take this initiative. The wiki should be one where it is easy for people to sign up and comment on the Draft FOSS manifesto. Any suggestions on where we can wikify this? Of course, we can also use petitionsonline.com etc but I am not sure if those are FOSS based websites.
The revised manifesto is below. Let us aim to mobilise as many signatures as possible by March 20th. This will also help us understand how large the FOSS community in India is!
Regards,
Venky
A draft FOSS manifesto for Indian political parties
The Free and Open Source Software community in India calls upon political parties to make FOSS usage and promotion a central part of the IT, e-government and education plans in their election manifestos. FOSS is software which is liberally licensed to grant the right of users to study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code. The open, inclusive and participatory nature of FOSS is a natural fit for the vibrant traditions of Indian democracy and its emphasis on sharing knowledge. Since software is the foundation of the digital economy, India's IT infrastructure should be built on FOSS and not on closed, proprietary software systems that enforce restrictive licenses, limit the freedom of users and encourage monopolistic behavior.
We believe that encouragement of FOSS will result in:
* Development of the domestic IT industry * Creation of jobs * Encouragement of skills development and upgradation * Enable localization of software to Indian languages * Reduction of India's dependence on monopolistic proprietary software vendors * Encourage the usage of open standards * Bridging the digital divide * Rapid modernization and computerization of India's education system * Technology upgradation of India's Small and Medium Enterprises * Efficient usage of budget outlays for e-government * Faster technology development through Collaborative Innovation
We call upon political parties in India to support the Indian FOSS community by:
1. Encouraging the use of FOSS in Indian education system. This will inculcate the virtues of collaboration, sharing and participation in children from a very young age and make computerization of schools affordable. 2. Eliminating proprietary software from the education syllabus and making the syllabus vendor-neutral, thus giving teachers and students the choice of software that suits their budgets and needs. The education system must teach principles and not products. For example, it must teach word processing skills and not endorse specific brands of word-processors. 3. Using FOSS in e-government to the maximum possible extent and ensuring that government tenders are open and do not favor proprietary software vendors. All software developed with tax-payers money should be released under a FOSS license to encourage collaboration; and the sharing of code and best practices. 4. Mandating the usage of open standards that are free from royalties and vendor lock-in so that the interaction between the government and citizens happens in a free and open manner befitting a democracy. 5. Encouraging freely shareable, FOSS based knowledge repositories like Wikipedia in Indian languages. 6. Encouraging the usage of the collaborative model of FOSS in scientific research. Science thrives on collaboration and the sharing of knowledge. The current trend of privatizing knowledge leads to secrecy in science and reduces collaboration. We must use the FOSS model based on collaboration, community and shared ownership of knowledge to spark a renaissance of knowledge in India. 7. Eliminating ambiguities in Indian Patent Law that allow the surreptitious grant of software and business method patents. Such patents have lead to huge amounts of litigation in developed countries. Indian traditions have held that knowledge grows by sharing and diminishes when hoarded. Patents on software and business methods grant undue monopolies on ideas and prevent independent invention and the sharing of knowledge.
India has one of the most youthful populations in the world and it is important that they have access to the tools with which the information society is built. The freedom to freely distribute FOSS tools, modify the source code, the ability to share knowledge and build communities make Free and Open Source Software the best, long-term model for India's digital future. We therefore urge all political parties to encourage the usage of FOSS for India's development.
Additional Links
1)UK's policy on open standards 2)NRC FOSS Initial Comments
On Tuesday 03 March 2009 17:51:55 Venkatesh Hariharan wrote:
D'Souza, Satyakam Goswami, Mahesh Pai, Lawrence Gonsalves and Rony for their suggestions/expert comments).
who is Lawrence Gonsalves?
I suggest that we put this up on a wiki and get FOSS supporters across the country to sign this. The more the number of signatures, the more seriously political parties will take this initiative.
all parties have spam filters in place. None of them take signature campaigns seriously. If we are to be taken seriously, we need to lobby. Arrange meets with political leaders.
On Tue, Mar 3, 2009 at 6:00 PM, Kenneth Gonsalves lawgon@au-kbc.org wrote:
On Tuesday 03 March 2009 17:51:55 Venkatesh Hariharan wrote:
D'Souza, Satyakam Goswami, Mahesh Pai, Lawrence Gonsalves and Rony for their suggestions/expert comments).
who is Lawrence Gonsalves?
Oops! Kenneth Gonsalves! Sorry about that!
I suggest that we put this up on a wiki and get FOSS supporters across the country to sign this. The more the number of signatures, the more seriously political parties will take this initiative.
all parties have spam filters in place. None of them take signature campaigns seriously. If we are to be taken seriously, we need to lobby. Arrange meets with political leaders.
In a democracy, how else do we indicate public support for an idea? We have plenty of supporters inside political parties and anything that indicates popular support for free/open source will strengthen their hands. Currently, IT is one among hundreds of issues that the political leadership deals with. If there is public support for FOSS adoption, it builds pressure on them to do something about it. Other channels must also be explored, but signing this manifesto is something tangible that the LUGs can do right now. Once this is done, we can also take it to the education ministry, state governments etc.
Venky
Venky
who is Lawrence Gonsalves?
I suggest that we put this up on a wiki and get FOSS supporters across the country to sign this. The more the number of signatures, the more seriously political parties will take this initiative.
all parties have spam filters in place. None of them take signature campaigns seriously. If we are to be taken seriously, we need to lobby. Arrange meets with political leaders.
+1 , Lets discuss on this point when i am in Chennai.
Oops! Kenneth Gonsalves! Sorry about that!
I suggest that we put this up on a wiki and get FOSS supporters across the country to sign this. The more the number of signatures, the more seriously political parties will take this initiative.
all parties have spam filters in place. None of them take signature campaigns seriously. If we are to be taken seriously, we need to lobby. Arrange meets with political leaders.
In a democracy, how else do we indicate public support for an idea? We have plenty of supporters inside political parties and anything that indicates popular support for free/open source will strengthen their hands. Currently, IT is one among hundreds of issues that the political leadership deals with. If there is public support for FOSS adoption, it builds pressure on them to do something about it. Other channels must also be explored, but signing this manifesto is something tangible that the LUGs can do right now. Once this is done, we can also take it to the education ministry, state governments etc.
+1 for you too, all efforts are important in there own way , since you are talking about number game LUG definitely is good place to start and it also brings in the spirit of Together we stand .
Hi All,
The FOSS manifesto has been put up as a petition - http://www.public-software.in/FOSS-manifesto
Please go ahead and view the petition and endorse it.
The idea is to collect as many signatures as possible and then submit the petition along with the list of signatories to various political parties. Hence, more the number of signatures, greater the weight of the petition.
Please also pass on this message to anyone else you know outside of the community, who might be willing to endorse the petition.
Thanks to Deeproot Linux for helping put this up!
Thanks, Vinay.
Venkatesh Hariharan wrote:
A draft FOSS manifesto for Indian political parties http://osindia.blogspot.com/2009/02/draft-foss-manifesto-for-indian.html
With elections approaching in April 2009, it was time to create a draft FOSS manifesto for Indian political parties. This is a first draft and I have written this keeping in mind that most Indian politicians would not be familiar with FOSS. Hence, the usage of simple language that anyone can understand. If you feel that any section here needs improvement, please let me know. Comments/suggestions welcome.
venky
A draft FOSS manifesto for Indian political parties
The Free and Open Source Software community in India calls upon political parties to make FOSS usage and promotion a central part of the IT, e-government and education plans in their election manifestos. FOSS is software which is liberally licensed to grant the right of users to study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code. The open, inclusive and participatory nature of FOSS is a natural fit for the vibrant traditions of Indian democracy. Since software is the foundation of the knowledge economy, India's IT infrastructure should be built on FOSS and not on closed, proprietary software systems.
We believe that encouragement of FOSS will result in:
* Development of the domestic IT industry * Creation of jobs * Encouragement of skills development and upgradation * Enable localization of software to Indian languages * Reduction of India's dependence on monopolistic proprietarysoftware vendors * Encourage the usage of open standards * Bridging the digital divide * Rapid modernization and computerization of India's education system * Technology upgradation of India's Small and Medium Enterprises * Efficient usage of budget outlays for e-government * Faster technology development through Collaborative Innovation
We call upon political parties in India to support the Indian FOSS community by:
- Encouraging the use of FOSS in Indian education system. This
will inculcate the virtues of collaboration, sharing and participation in children from a very young age and make computerization of schools affordable. 2. Eliminating proprietary software from the education syllabus and making the syllabus vendor-neutral, thus giving teachers and students the choice of software that suits their budgets and needs. 3. Using FOSS in e-government to the maximum possible extent and ensuring that government tenders are open and do not favor proprietary software vendors. All software developed with tax-payers money should be released under a FOSS license to encourage collaboration; and the sharing of code and best practices. 4. Mandating the usage of open standards that are free from royalties and vendor lock-in so that the interaction between the government and citizens happens in a free and open manner befitting a democracy. 5. Encouraging freely shareable, FOSS based knowledge repositories like Wikipedia in Indian languages. 6. Encouraging the usage of the collaborative model of FOSS in scientific research. Science thrives on collaboration and the sharing of knowledge. The current trend of privatizing knowledge leads to secrecy in science and reduces collaboration. We must use the FOSS model based on collaboration, community and shared ownership of knowledge to spark a renaissance of knowledge in India. 7. Eliminating software and business method patents that have lead to huge amounts of litigation in developed countries. Indian traditions have held that knowledge grows by sharing and diminishes when hoarded. Patents on software and business methods grant undue monopolies on ideas and prevent independent invention and the sharing of knowledge.
India has one of the most youthful populations in the world and it is important that they have access to the tools with which the information society is built. The freedom to modify the source code, the ability to share knowledge and build communities make Free and Open Source Software the best, long-term model for India's development. We therefore urge all political parties to encourage the usage of FOSS for India's development.
On 3/9/09, vinay ವಿನಯ್ vinay@itforchange.net wrote:
Hi All,
The FOSS manifesto has been put up as a petition - http://www.public-software.in/FOSS-manifesto
Please go ahead and view the petition and endorse it.
The idea is to collect as many signatures as possible and then submit the petition along with the list of signatories to various political parties. Hence, more the number of signatures, greater the weight of the petition.
Please also pass on this message to anyone else you know outside of the community, who might be willing to endorse the petition.
Thanks to Deeproot Linux for helping put this up!
Thanks, Vinay.
Venkatesh Hariharan wrote:
A draft FOSS manifesto for Indian political parties http://osindia.blogspot.com/2009/02/draft-foss-manifesto-for-indian.html
With elections approaching in April 2009, it was time to create a draft FOSS manifesto for Indian political parties. This is a first draft and I have written this keeping in mind that most Indian politicians would not be familiar with FOSS. Hence, the usage of simple language that anyone can understand. If you feel that any section here needs improvement, please let me know. Comments/suggestions welcome.
venky
A draft FOSS manifesto for Indian political parties
The Free and Open Source Software community in India calls upon political parties to make FOSS usage and promotion a central part of the IT, e-government and education plans in their election manifestos. FOSS is software which is liberally licensed to grant the right of users to study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code. The open, inclusive and participatory nature of FOSS is a natural fit for the vibrant traditions of Indian democracy. Since software is the foundation of the knowledge economy, India's IT infrastructure should be built on FOSS and not on closed, proprietary software systems.
We believe that encouragement of FOSS will result in:
* Development of the domestic IT industry * Creation of jobs * Encouragement of skills development and upgradation * Enable localization of software to Indian languages * Reduction of India's dependence on monopolistic proprietarysoftware vendors * Encourage the usage of open standards * Bridging the digital divide * Rapid modernization and computerization of India's education system * Technology upgradation of India's Small and Medium Enterprises * Efficient usage of budget outlays for e-government * Faster technology development through Collaborative Innovation
We call upon political parties in India to support the Indian FOSS community by:
- Encouraging the use of FOSS in Indian education system. This
will inculcate the virtues of collaboration, sharing and participation in children from a very young age and make computerization of schools affordable. 2. Eliminating proprietary software from the education syllabus and making the syllabus vendor-neutral, thus giving teachers and students the choice of software that suits their budgets and needs. 3. Using FOSS in e-government to the maximum possible extent and ensuring that government tenders are open and do not favor proprietary software vendors. All software developed with tax-payers money should be released under a FOSS license to encourage collaboration; and the sharing of code and best practices. 4. Mandating the usage of open standards that are free from royalties and vendor lock-in so that the interaction between the government and citizens happens in a free and open manner befitting a democracy. 5. Encouraging freely shareable, FOSS based knowledge repositories like Wikipedia in Indian languages. 6. Encouraging the usage of the collaborative model of FOSS in scientific research. Science thrives on collaboration and the sharing of knowledge. The current trend of privatizing knowledge leads to secrecy in science and reduces collaboration. We must use the FOSS model based on collaboration, community and shared ownership of knowledge to spark a renaissance of knowledge in India. 7. Eliminating software and business method patents that have lead to huge amounts of litigation in developed countries. Indian traditions have held that knowledge grows by sharing and diminishes when hoarded. Patents on software and business methods grant undue monopolies on ideas and prevent independent invention and the sharing of knowledge.
India has one of the most youthful populations in the world and it is important that they have access to the tools with which the information society is built. The freedom to modify the source code, the ability to share knowledge and build communities make Free and Open Source Software the best, long-term model for India's development. We therefore urge all political parties to encourage the usage of FOSS for India's development.
-- Vinay Sreenivasa IT for Change 91-98805-95032 vinay@itforchange.net
http://itforchange.net http://india.is-watch.net/ http://is-watch.net
I have a username 'vivekvc' registered on http://www.public-software.in, but when I try to access the URL http://www.public-software.in/node/add/sign-petition. I get the message 'Access denied You are not authorized to access this page.'
Kindly do fix this so that I can sign the petition at the earliest :-)
Regards,
On Mon, Mar 9, 2009 at 1:24 PM, vinay ವಿನಯ್ vinay@itforchange.net wrote:
Please go ahead and view the petition and endorse it.
I'm sure I'm probably missing out on something but I could not see my signature on the petition. So I went ahead and signed again. Either ways, it is not showing up in the list.
On Mon, Mar 9, 2009 at 10:50 PM, Siddhesh Poyarekar siddhesh.poyarekar@gmail.com wrote:
I'm sure I'm probably missing out on something but I could not see my signature on the petition. So I went ahead and signed again. Either ways, it is not showing up in the list.
Even mine hasn't shown up. Let's wait for a day, in case it is under moderation. If it doesn't show up we can take up the complaint.
-
jtd -
Kenneth Gonsalves -
Mehul Ved -
Rony -
satyaakam goswami -
Siddhesh Poyarekar -
Venkatesh Hariharan -
Vikram Vincent -
vinay ವಿನಯ್ -
Vivek Varghese Cherian