The Free Software Foundation of India would like to bring to the attention of the Government and the general public the negative implications of the "investment pledges" made by the Microsoft Chairman, Bill Gates, during his present visit to India.

Free Software Foundation of India

Press Release

Why India should reject Microsoft's so-called investments

Thursday, November 14, 2002

The Free Software Foundation of India would like to bring to the attention of the Government and the general public the negative implications of the "investment pledges" made by the Microsoft Chairman, Bill Gates, during his present visit to India.

At the outset, it needs to be made very clear that the proposed investments have no motive other than the motive of profit and nobody should be under the illusion that these "investments" are being made for the betterment of society or for the development of India. On the contrary, the type of software developed and sold by Microsoft, proprietary software, -- software which is supplied without its underlying source code and without the freedoms to study, modify and redistribute it -- constrains indigenous development and divides society.

Of particular concern is the Microsoft Chairman's pledge of money to `Project Shiksha' aimed at educating 35 lakh children, tied to the condition that the Project will purchase and use licensed Microsoft software! Mr. Gates magnanimously declared that "In education, we have very low pricing. For big education projects, we will have larger donations so that the cost of software is lower." However, this is not a question of initial software cost. Microsoft would benefit tremendously from such a project even if it were to supply its software free of cost as long as it is Microsoft software. That is because the children and teachers would learn (or shall we say "indoctrinated") to use only Microsoft software, allowing the company to maintain its monopolistic stranglehold in education and beyond. This is akin to an MBBS course teaching potential doctors how to use medicines manufactured only by one particular pharmaceutical company!

To quote Richard Stallman, President of the Free Software Foundation: "This `gift' is no act of generosity. Giving Microsoft software to school children is like giving them cigarettes: it is a way to get them hooked, so that once they grow up they will be a captive market for Microsoft." Thus, Microsoft is not "investing" in Indian Education but in its own future captive market.

Besides the obvious issue of monopoly, there is another far more fundamental concern, that of software freedom. As pointed out earlier, Microsoft software is proprietary -- it is supplied without its underlying source code under a restrictive license which denies its users the freedoms to study, modify and redistribute the software. Which means that the students and teachers of `Project Shiksha' will not have the means or the right to study how the software works or to change it -- studying and changing the software one uses is one of the best ways to learn programming. If they find problems with the software, they will not have the means or the right to make required corrections, either by themselves or by engaging a third party. They will have to depend solely on Microsoft to provide such corrections. They will be denied the right to share the software with others outside the purview of the project premises, leading young and impressionable minds to believe that sharing is wrong!

The People and the Government of India should reject outright any grant or "investment" which is tied to such restrictive conditions whose sole aim is to perpetuate a monopoly and make a nation's software infrastructure so hopelessly dependent on one corporation.

The Government should set up an expert committee to look into the above implications and seriously consider formulating an IT and education policy based on Free/Swatantra Software. Swatantra Software gives the users all the rights and freedoms denied by proprietary software. It enables and encourages collaborative development independent of any corporate entity thereby guaranteeing the freedom and independence of its users. It facilitates devising local solutions to local problems independently of the software's supplier. It gives the users the means and right to study how the software works and, as software educationists know, the best way to learn to write good software is by studying other peoples' work. It allows the software to be shared, both "as is" as well as in modified forms, in keeping with the ethical tradition of the free flow of knowledge.

An example of Free/Swatantra Software is the GNU/Linux operating system which is in widespread use especially in the enterprise, in government departments and in academic institutions around the world. The development of the GNU system started in 1984, and the GNU/Linux operating system has been in use since 1992.

The country-wide SchoolNet program of Namibia, for instance, uses GNU/Linux. Other countries like Peru are in the process of mandating or legislating the use of free software such as GNU/Linux to ensure their independence.

References:
Peruvian Congressman's Open Letter to Microsoft
An Interview with Peruvian Congressman Villanueva

Namibia: SchoolNet rebuffs Microsoft

The GNU Project

About FSF India

The Free Software Foundation Of India is a non-profit organisation committed to advocating, promoting and propagating the use and development of swatantra software in India. Our goal is to ensure the long term adoption of free software, and aim for the day when all software will be free (swatantra). This includes educating people about software freedom and convincing them that it is the freedom that matters. We regard non-free proprietary software as a problem to be solved, not as a solution to any problem.