[Fsf-friends] Fwd: A CPIM Hijack of Free Software Foundation?

[Anivar Aravind]

My mail is not appearing in the list archive

Posting it again
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Anivar Aravind <anivar.aravind at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Sep 19, 2008 at 12:02 PM
Subject: A CPIM Hijack of Free Software Foundation?
To: Principal Support List of FSF-India <fsf-friends at mm.gnu.org.in>
Cc: rms at gnu.org, "Nagarjuna G." <nagarjun at gnowledge.org>, "Nagarjuna
G." <nagarjunag at gmail.com>


Today I came to know about an event called freedom and software
happening in Chennai on 21st September  through a blog.
The event website is a google site
http://sites.google.com/site/freedomandsoftware/ Most of the friends
participating are our friends. But this mail is for some
clarifications

The invitation text says  following

<quote>
M. Subramanian - The Mayor, N. Ram - Editor, The Hindu, Debesh Das -
Minister of Information Technology, West Bengal, Kiran Chandra -
Director, Free Software Foundation India & Prabir Purkayastha -
Secretary, Delhi Science Forum, have been confirmed to be the panel of
speakers.

The objective of the event will be the launch of the project for the
development of a Tamil Version of the GNU/ Linux operating system. The
launch will be made by the Mayor, M.Subramanian. The project will be
developed by engineering students with able technical support from the
IT professionals & professors, and infrastructural support by the
entrepreneurs.

The logo and caption for the Free Software Foundation, Tamil Nadu will
be launched by Mr. N. Ram.

The event will be attended by the IT professionals, Entrepreneurs,
Researchers and professors of reputed colleges, from all over the
country and the registration will be open to all, so you can bring all
your friends as well. There will be no entry fee for the same.
</quote>

My questions are Following

1.Is this event anyway related with Free Software Foundation?

2. This news is not announced  in any Free Software Mailing lists,
like FSF-Friends, FSF-Tn(http://mm.gnu.org.in//pipermail/fsf-tn/) ILUG
Chennai etc . It is not announced yet in gnu.org.in also. Why This
much secrecy around this?

3.. The above invitation text says "logo and caption for the Free
Software Foundation, Tamil Nadu will be launched" in the function. Is
FSF India decided to start regional FSFs? If yes why  this is
organising in a a secret maner?

3. The Invitation text says "The objective of the event will be the
launch of the project for the development of a Tamil Version of the
GNU/ Linux operating system", why there is a need of another
distribution when tamil is well supported in most of the upstream
distributions? . Let it be the work of  Tamil Localisation groups.

4. The contacts provided in the website contact page is not at all
familiar in Free Software Community. And There is no information on
who is organising this event.

On a quick checkup with friends in Chennai, they  says it is an event
Organised by Communist Party of India (Marxist) . Thats why the
secrecy. I don't have a problem in a political party supporting free
software cause. But If it is the case i am very suspicious on
following points
1. The exclusion of the Free Software Movement in Chennai in Organising it,
2. Creating a body with power structure before Contributing anything .
I dont think a free software Foundation is not needed for releasing a
Localised GNU/Linux Distribution
3. Secrecy in whole process of a Public event

I am expecting a reply from FSF India on this

Anivar