Open Letter To Mammootty

Open Letter to Mammootty to Reconsider Promotion of Microsoft and their Proprietary Softwares

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A malayalam version of this letter is available here . Please help to complete this Translation മമ്മൂട്ടിയ്ക്കൊരു തുറന്ന കത്തു്

Context

Microsoft will be signing up Malayalam movie star Mammootty as one of the brand ambassadors for the Computer Literacy programme that is to be organized soon in Kerala, a Southern Indian State well known for its pro-free software policies. This is an open letter by Free Software Activists, Supporters and Users of Kerala to Mammootty.

Open Letter to Mamootty from Free Software Community

Dear Bharat Mammootty,

This letter is to express our deepest disappointment in your involvement with Microsoft to launch their e-literacy program in Kerala and is based on the belief that you have high social convictions and commitment to the people of Kerala.

Kerala's civil society had in the past been delighted by your decision to dissociate with the Coca-Cola advertisement project as a response to the resource exploitation and pollution caused by the corporate body. However, people of Kerala will be bewildered to see that you are lending your name and fame to support a devastatingly nefarious techno-monopolistic campaign unleashed by Microsoft in our state. We feel your move is both ill-advised and harmful.

Being the Director of a major media initiative (Kairali TV, Malayalam Communications Limited) that claims to be people-oriented both in terms of its initial resource mobilization tactics as well as its professed commitment to people's causes, it is embarrassing to see that such concerns are completely sidelined in favor of a hideous agenda of a major US based multi-national IT giant, despised even in US for its monopolistic tendencies. In fact there are records of this company using underhanded tactics to enforce its views on an organization like ISO which maintains international standards for public benefit.

We are assuming that you were not given enough information about the IT Scenario we live in.

Software is a tool and a means with which we can achieve a lot of things. In this respect, it is similar to infrastructure like roads and rails. Using Microsoft software is akin to using a road built by a private agency who levies a charge for its use. Any further development of that road and the terms of usage of that road will be subject to the whims of that private agency alone, however insane it may be. Free Software is like an alternate road , with equal or better quality. It is community owned - public property. What modifications have to be done, and where it has to be done is driven by public need and is not influenced by a private party.

When we use Microsoft's products, which do not give the four essential freedoms in Computing (Right to study, Right to copy, Right to modify and Right to Redistribute software), we are becoming helpless creatures. Non-free softwares like Windows are designed to keep users helpless and prohibit cooperation. On the other hand, Free software believes in sharing and cooperation.

For your kind attention, Microsoft, the company with which you plan to sign the contract, has a track record of being fined $1.35 billion for Antitrust Charges in European Union for not complying with EU standards and trying to avoid giving essential information required for interoperability to others by asking for a huge price. As the report says, "Microsoft was the first company in 50 years of EU competition policy that the commission has had to fine for failure to comply with an antitrust decision," The Hindu February 28, 2008.

The Kerala state IT policy says motto of Akshaya project is ‘making technology and e-government services accessible to common man’. For making technology and e-governance accessible to common man without vendor lock-in, Free Software (Swathanthra Software) is the only solution available.

In the IANS Report, you said that you want to launch the project "to help make all sections of the society IT literate". We understand and appreciate your genuine spirit. But selecting Microsoft as an accomplice would be the wrong choice. Making people literate benefits the society as a whole. Proprietary software rejects their thirst for knowledge: it says, “The knowledge you want is a secret — learning is forbidden!” Free software encourages everyone to learn. The free software community rejects the 'priesthood of technology', which keeps the general public ignorant of how technology works. The people and Government of Kerala understood it and has already introduced it in our schools and government institutions. So we request you to stand for free software and essential freedoms in computing to fulfill your mission.

Since you have on several occasions expressed your support to the causes upheld by left forces in the country, we hope that it will not be news to you that CPI(M) and other progressive forces in the country have been ardent supporters of free software and as a matter of principle, detest Microsoft's monopoly built through treacherous market machinations that even the developed countries find unbearable.

It is high time that you understood the implications and ramifications of your support for Microsoft. It seriously undermines your role as a socially committed artist, progressive media leader and sympathizer of leftist politics.

We hope that being a thinking man, you will realize the error in endorsing proprietary software and will persist in your mission of bringing about IT to the common man via free software and open standards. As a great man who has enriched the culture of Kerala and India, please do set an example by using and promoting free software.

We as a body that strives to support free standards and free society through free software, request you to reconsider your decision and be a proponent of free software to achieve your mission to help make all sections of the society IT literate.

Let us build your dream together with free software.

A group of free software activists, supporters and users who believe in freedom, free society and free expression of ideas.

Endorsed by

Organisations

1. FOSS Communities in India
2. GNU Linux Users Group- Thiruvanathapuram
3. Swathanthra Malayalam Computing
4. Swathantra Software User Group Malappuram
5. Palakkad Libre Software Users Society
6. GNU/Linux Users Group Calicut
7. Free Software Users Group Bangalore
8. Indian Linux User Group Cochin Chapter
9. PHP Trivandrum
10. Free Software Users Group Thrissur
11. Free Software Foundation of India
12. Open Source Foundation of India
13. Movingrepublic
14. Global Alternate Information Applications(GAIA)
15. ViBGYOR Film Collective
16. Keraleeyam Magazine
17. Third Eye Films
18. Visual Search, Bangalore
19. samalochana
20. SPACE
21. Forum Kerala
22. Cinemela Film Festival, New Delhi
23. South Asia Citizens Web
24. KONANGAL FILM SOCIETY, COIMBATORE
25. BMS Libre Software Users' Group (BMSLUG)
26. Swatantra Kannada Localisation Project
27. COIMBATORE HUMAN RIGHTS FORUM
28. Malayala Kalagramam Film Society,New Mahe
29. Kerala Society for Theatre Research,Sree Sankaracharya University,Kaladi.
30. Padhabhedam magazine, Calicut
31. IBON South Asia
32. FOSSMeet@NITC
33. Fireflies- an ngo for children and youth
34. Subaltern Studies. An open-access media, communications, and cultural studies collective

Individuals

1. Abdulkareem UK
2. Abhinandh
3. Aditya Kavoor
4. Afthab Ellath
5. Ajai Joseph
6. Ajo Augustine
7. Amey Jahagirdar (One Happy Linux Mint User)
8. Amit Narkar
9. Amit Surana
10. Anand Babu Periasamy
11. Anand Haridas
12. Anand S Babu
13. Anand Narayanan
14. Ani Peter
15. Anish Bhaskaran
16. Anivar Aravind
17. Anoop C Jacob
18. Anoop John
19. Anoop Jacob Thomas
20. Anoop P Alias
21. Anoop Panavalappil
22. Anoop V Muraleedharan
23. Anu James
24. Arun.K.R
25. Asha Gopinathan IISc
26. Ashik Salahudeen
27. baburajbhagavathy
28. Baiju M
29. Bipin Thayyullathil
30. Birenjith P S
31. Chandra Sekar.S
32. Chandrasekharan Nair S
33. Cibu C J
34. Chandra Kumar
35. CK Raju
36. C.Saratchandran
37. desertwind
38. DileepRaj, Resident Editor, Penguin Malayalam
39. Dinesh Joshi
40. Dr. Mahesh Mangalat
41. Edwin
42. Fr. Benny Benedict
43. Mr. Bruce Mathew
44. Geethika G.
45. George John
46. Gopal menon, Film maker
47. G. Palaniappan
48. G.P Ramachandran
49. Hafiz A Haq
50. Harish Veeramani
51. Hari Vishnu
52. Harsh Kapoor
53. Hiranjyoti Mahanta
54. Hiran Venugopalan
55. Indu.R.Nair
56. Jaisen Nedumpāla
57. J Suresh Kumar
58. Jagadish S
59. Jayakumar Thazhath
60. Jayesh V
61. Jinesh K J
62. Dr. Sunny Kuriakose Alwaye
63. Jithu Sudhakar
64. Joby John
65. John Samuel, Convenor, National Social Watch Coalition
66. Joice Mulanthanam
67. Joseph John (Saji)
68. Justin Joseph
69. Kalyani Menon-Sen
70. karthick.n(linux loves me)
71. Kishore.A
72. K.M Venugopal
73. K.P Sasi, Filmmaker
74. K.Satchidanandan, Poet
75. Kurian John
76. Kishore Budha
77. M Jayadev
78. Madhusoodanan P
79. Mahesh Aravind
80. Manilal K M
81. Manish Sharma
82. Manu S Madhav
83. Manuel Jose
84. Mathew Chacko
85. Mohana Krishnan
86. Mustafa Desamangalam
87. Nimesh V
88. Nishan Naseer
89. Nishanth Dhar
90. Noor Manseel Mohamed
91. Pavithran S
92. P.Baburaj
93. P.K.Pokker, Director, Keralabhasha Institute
94. Pramode C.E
95. Prashant Shah
96. Pratheesh Prakash
97. Praveen A
98. Praveen Gopinath
99. Praveen Kunjapur
100. Praveen P
101. Prakash Kumar Ray, Cinema Studies, SAA, JNU, New Delhi
102. Prinson.P.J
103. Raja Swamy, Austin, Texas
104. Rajiv R Nair
105. Rakesh Sharma Film Maker
106. Ranjith S. Kumar
107. Ravi Chandra Padmala
108. Renni P Mathunny
109. Sajeer.A.R
110. Sajith VK
111. Sam Albuquerque
112. Sameer Mohamed Thahir
113. Sandeep Jairam Web Developer
114. Sanju Surendran
115. S.Anoop
116. Santhosh Kurian
117. Santhosh Thottingal
118. Sarah Singh
119. Sarath Lakshman
120. Sasi Kumar, V.
121. Seena Sreevalson
122. Shabnam Hasmi
123. Shailesh Kumar Soft Developer
124. Shashank Bharadwaj
125. Sheshu K R
126. Shyam.k
127. Sibi Antony
128. Siddhartha Brahma
129. Sp^wN_0F_S^T^N
130. Sreenadh H
131. Sudev
132. Sudhang Shankar
133. Sujith Haridasan
134. Sujith S
135. Sushovan Dhar
136. Thanesh Thampi
137. Thejesh GN
138. The Overclocked Fragger
139. T.T Sreekumar
140. Thomas Mannuthy
141. Venkatesh Choppella IIITM-K
142. Vikram Vincent
143. Venu V.K
144. Vimal Joseph
145. Vineesh Thalethodi
146. Vipin Vincent
147. Vishal Rawlley
148. Vivek Khurana
149. V K Adarsh
150. Yadu Rajiv
151. Yesudeep Mangalapilly
152. Zaheer M Kozhakkaniyil
153. Mohan R
154. Sabeel
155. Anish Samuel
156. KamalHariMenon
157. Lijeesh S D
158. Alfahed P M
159. PON.CHANDRAN, COIMBATORE
160. Pramod G Menon
161. Dr Haroon Ashraf
162. Praveen K. Prasad
163. Girish G G
164. Sreekumar R

Relates Links

1. Microsoft, Mammootty to launch Kerala e-literacy programme
2. CPI(M) supports Free software
3. Globalization Institute's submission to European Union
4. Kerala schools use free software
5. What is Free Software?
6. ORUMA: the result of KSEB’s concerted efforts

Press Release

Open letter to Mammootty - Press release