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<div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Mar 19, 2009 at 11:07 AM, Raj Mathur <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:raju@linux-delhi.org">raju@linux-delhi.org</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">On Thursday 19 Mar 2009, V. Sasi Kumar wrote:<br>> [snip]<br>
<div class="im">> Having said that, let me say that I don't agree that the issue of<br>> software freedom is totally insignificant. It is important because<br>> the government is beginning computerise its work. And in that,<br>
> transparency and security are important factors. There, the use of<br>> proprietary software could compromise various things that could<br>> affect not just some elites but everyone. Therefore, I believe,<br>> software freedom has a place, though not as high a place as food and<br>
> health.<br><br></div>As noted earlier, that was a digression, and I don't really know if this<br>is the right forum to continue this debate (but am doing so anyway :) .<br>If I had to restate my point in a more palatable fashion, (speaking<br>
purely for myself), I'd happily vote for party FOO who had introduction<br>of software patents and banishment of all FOSS in its manifesto, as<br>long as they promised to rescind the TRIPS clauses related to<br>agricultural and pharmaceutical patents. In my scale of things (and in<br>
yours too I bet!), lack of freedom in agri and pharma nullifies even<br>perfect freedom in any intangible field, e.g. software, music or books.<br><br>Note that this is a moving target: as India (and Indians) grow more<br>
wealthy, the relative importance of food and drugs vs software and<br>music keeps declining. When all 1.2 billion of us have enough food and<br>adequate health care, software will be the overriding battle to be<br>fought; until then, I will try to keep my outlook a bit wider.</blockquote>
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<div><font color="#3333ff">India is home to world's largest severely noursihed children, 77% spends less than Rs. 20 a day, those unable to consume 2200 calories have increased from 57.5% in 1993-94 to 2004-05. As per Sainath's article in Hindu yesterday India as further moved down the HDI (Human Development Index) from 128 last year to 132 now... </font></div>
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<div><font color="#3333ff">Still I wonder how people in teh same country fighting endlessly for software thinks "<em>When all 1.2 billion of us have enough food and adequate health care, software will be the overriding battle to be fought</em>"</font></div>
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<div><font color="#3333ff">What Vikram said is perfectly what any activist who fights for "TRUE" freedom contrary to "Psuedo" freedom advocates and preaches. If you are fighting for freedom and believes that a country like India needs freedom in software more than in drugs, pharmceuticals etc. , I think I need to know the meaning of "Freedom" which you are advocating ......</font></div>
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<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid"><span id=""></span><br><br>Of course, all this is hypothetical and we can keep discussing this<br>endlessly, so, while I look forward to your response(s), no more from<br>
me on this subject :)<br>
<div class="im"><br>Regards,<br><br>-- Raju<br>--<br>Raj Mathur <a href="mailto:raju@kandalaya.org">raju@kandalaya.org</a> <a href="http://kandalaya.org/" target="_blank">http://kandalaya.org/</a><br>
GPG: 78D4 FC67 367F 40E2 0DD5 0FEF C968 D0EF CC68 D17F<br>PsyTrance & Chill: <a href="http://schizoid.in/" target="_blank">http://schizoid.in/</a> || It is the mind that moves<br>_______________________________________________<br>
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