RMS speaks about Free Software and other issues
Richard M Stallman is...well RMS. Attempting to put forward an abridged version of RMS does grave injustice to both the man and his vision. During 2003-2004, RMS visited India more than once. His recent presence at the World Social Forum (WSF - 2003) at Mumbai is a highlight of the hectic activity seen in the Free Software Foundation of India.

This interview was conducted through e-mail for Freedom Matters - the magazine of Free Software Foundation of India. Kindly read 'SM' as Sankarshan Mukhopadhyay. 'RMS' on the other hand needs no further introduction.

SM: In recent times a lot of software development activity in Free
Software is visible from India, how do you react to this upswing ?

RMS: I'm glad to see that Indian programmers are now contributing
to the world-wide free software community, as well as using what
the developed world has written. This is a sign that the
programming community in India has matured.

SM: Free Software in Education forms an important aspect of the Free
Software Foundation's projects - what are your visions for the future
with regard to India ?

RMS: It is essential for schools to use free software. With free
software, schools can offer those students who are interested in
software the opportunity to learn in depth. By using exclusively
free software, they can teach all students the habit and custom of
sharing with their neighbors.

Those reasons apply in all countries, but in India the struggle to
liberate the schools has become particularly acute. Microsoft is
tempting Indian schools with gratis copies of its user-subjugating
operating system, but not all is going their way. In Kerala, the
choice of system to use in school has become a political issue.

SM: The Free Software Foundation as a public interface is primarily an
advocacy group - do you feel that the various regional chapters need
to exert more ?

RMS: That is an easy question. Until we win the victory and
secure lasting freedom, we always need to do more ;-).

SM: You have been a frequent visitor to India in recent times, what is
your opinion on the level of awareness ? At the media level ? At the
government level ? In the general population (sample size being
audience at your lectures) ?

RMS: The Indians I can speak with, and those who come to my
speeches, are those who speak English. So I cannot form a picture
of what the general population of India thinks. You, who live in
India and speak the language of your region, can do this much
better than I can.

However, I can affirm that the level of media interest is quite
high, compared with other countries.

SM: It is still a widely known fact that government circulars and
tender notices still mention 'non-free software' by name as mandatory
requirements - example being the explicit mention of the 'zip format
of Winzip 8.1' in Income Tax forms - in your opinion, how should this
be tackled ?

RMS: I thought Winzip was the Windows version of gzip, and that it
was free software. But since I have never been a Windows user, I
am not certain. You could check this.

However, on the general point I agree with you that governments should
not recommend specific non-free programs. They should not recommend
non-free programs at all.

SM: You have always been critical of the need to 'copyright'
scientific knowledge, how do you think the FSF should be involved in
creating an awareness at the ground-level ?

RMS: To free up the redistribution of scientific papers, we need
to raise awareness of the issue among scientists and among the
government officials that fund research.

It would be useful and effective for the Indian government to
place a condition on all government-funded research: that the
organization which receives the funding shall republish on the
web, every scholarly paper published by its faculty, staff or
students, within a few months after the paper has been accepted
and published by a journal or conference, and shall do so in a way
that gives everyone the right to redistribute verbatim copies of
the paper. India's leadership would be followed around the world,
and the journal publishers' stranglehold over science would
crumble.

SM: Your views on the recently concluded World Social Forum...

RMS: I could not tell much about the forum as a whole; my view of
it was limited to my speaking and interviews. However, Professor
Nagarjuna told me that most of the activists who heard my speech
about free software subsequently visited him at the FSF India
stand, and that they have learned to understand that if they wish
to make the world a better place by spreading computer facilities
to the masses, this has to be done with free software.

SM: Do you think that it is feasible for the FSF to be involved in
creating a project repository by encouraging Free Software Development
at the University level through microgrants ?

RMS: I don't know whether microgrants are an effective method for
this, but the FSF can certainly help in an experiment to find out.


Sankarshan Mukhopadhyay is a member of the Free Software Foundation of
India along with the FSF-India West Bengal Chapter. He can be reached
at sankarshan at bengalinux dot org
- posted by sankarshan @ 3/03/2004 08:19:00 PM