Linux India
Encyclopedia
Linux India is an informally organized community of mailing lists and a web site. It was founded by Arun Sharma and Karra Dakshinamurthy circa 1997 to help newcomers to the Linux
Operating System
and as a discussion forum for Linux enthusiasts in India
. In the initial days, the mailing lists were administered and moderated by Sudhakar Chandrasekharan AKA Thaths.
was prohibitively expensive at the time. Technology magazines like PCQuest
, CHIP Magazine and others began bringing out Linux special issues including cover CDs containing full distributions. These CDs helped introduce Linux to many who could not afford the costs of downloading. These publications became an important source for Linux distributions in India.
A few formal and informal Linux User Groups had sprung up around the time. The best known one at the time was the Bharat Linux User Group, formed in early 1997 at the REC Surat (see http://www.digeratus.com/articles/art-linux.html for a description). Many academic institutions, including the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
in Mumbai
, National Centre for Software Technology in Mumbai, the Indian Institute of Science
in Bangalore
, Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai
were already heavy users of Linux at the time. Many of them had semi-formal user groups including mailing lists for support.
, and the sponsors of the Linux presence at the event felt the need to work with a formal organization, in order to avoid inadvertently getting into a political cross-fire.
Representatives from all the known LUGs were invited to join a new, private mailing list called LI-reg. The list discussed whether Linux India had to be formalized and how the various LUGs related to Linux India. There was considerable difference in opinion among the representatives whether there was a need to formalize a nation-wide organization. Some felt that it was important to have a formal organization to deal with Industry. Others felt that things were fine the way they were without the need for a formal organization. No consensus was reached in two months of discussions. The idea of formalizing Linux India was dropped and has not been re-attempted since.
The archives of the LI-reg mailing list are available online.
where they have resided since.
Some channel old timers and regulars include(in no particular order) OldMonk, f3ew, Hobbes`, no_mind, baks17, VivekVC, binand, vIkSiT, jace, tazz, stephdg, z00dax, gora, svaksha, jeevan_ullas,ramkrsna,t3rmin4t0r, mary, Lap_64, koolhead, KillerX.
In 2008, a Mailing list named linux-india-channel
was created to facilitate the channel IRC channel regulars and channel operators to discuss the IRC channel policy and other relevant discussions related to the Linux India IRC channel.
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
Operating System
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
and as a discussion forum for Linux enthusiasts in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. In the initial days, the mailing lists were administered and moderated by Sudhakar Chandrasekharan AKA Thaths.
State of Linux in India at the Time
In the late 1990s Linux begun getting a lot of exposure in India through computer magazines and enthusiasts. Adoption of Linux was slow as bandwidth in IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
was prohibitively expensive at the time. Technology magazines like PCQuest
PCQuest
PCQuest is an Indian technology publication, and part of the Cyber Media group of publications that also publish Dataquest.Founded in 1982, the magazine was originally called PC World, and was one of the earliest technology magazines published in India...
, CHIP Magazine and others began bringing out Linux special issues including cover CDs containing full distributions. These CDs helped introduce Linux to many who could not afford the costs of downloading. These publications became an important source for Linux distributions in India.
A few formal and informal Linux User Groups had sprung up around the time. The best known one at the time was the Bharat Linux User Group, formed in early 1997 at the REC Surat (see http://www.digeratus.com/articles/art-linux.html for a description). Many academic institutions, including the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research is a research institution in India dedicated to basic research in mathematics and the sciences. It is a Deemed University and works under the umbrella of the Department of Atomic Energy of the Government of India. It is located at Navy Nagar, Colaba, Mumbai...
in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, National Centre for Software Technology in Mumbai, the Indian Institute of Science
Indian Institute of Science
Indian Institute of Science is a research institution of higher learning located in Bangalore, India. It was established in 1909.-History:After a chance meeting between Jamsetji N...
in Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
were already heavy users of Linux at the time. Many of them had semi-formal user groups including mailing lists for support.
Growth
Between 1997 and 1999, the Linux India mailing list grew focusing largely on helping people with technical issues related to installing and running Linux on their PCs. Linux India became a kind of de facto umbrella for various Linux Users Groups across India. Users from smaller towns that did not have a LUG often joined Linux India. When they met a sufficient critical mass of people interested in Linux from the same area they formed a local LUG. In November 1999, the Linux community in Bangalore participated in a technology industry exhibition. With the broader adoption of Linux, companies like GT also began selling cheap Linux CDs in India.The Great Renaming
As a result of this growth the Linux India mailing list was split into three—Linux India Help(LIH), Linux India General (LIG), and Linux India Programmers (LIP)—in November 1999. A web site was created and an IRC server (now defunct irc.linux-india.org) was started. Most of the old-timers now lurk at the ##linux-india channel on irc.freenode.net. The mailing lists are still functional and most of the veterans still subscribe to them, though the number of daily messages have reduced because now almost every major city/state has its own LUG and their own mailing lists to discuss issues. The mailing lists can be subscribed from the sourceforge page linked from www.linux-india.org.Attempts at Formalization
In 2000 an attempt was made to formalize Linux India as a registered organization. One of the reasons was that a repeat of the event from November 1999 was scheduled in BangaloreBangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, and the sponsors of the Linux presence at the event felt the need to work with a formal organization, in order to avoid inadvertently getting into a political cross-fire.
Representatives from all the known LUGs were invited to join a new, private mailing list called LI-reg. The list discussed whether Linux India had to be formalized and how the various LUGs related to Linux India. There was considerable difference in opinion among the representatives whether there was a need to formalize a nation-wide organization. Some felt that it was important to have a formal organization to deal with Industry. Others felt that things were fine the way they were without the need for a formal organization. No consensus was reached in two months of discussions. The idea of formalizing Linux India was dropped and has not been re-attempted since.
The archives of the LI-reg mailing list are available online.
Move to Sourceforge
In 2001 the administrator of the mailing lists resigned and the lists were moved to sourceforgeSourceForge
SourceForge Enterprise Edition is a collaborative revision control and software development management system. It provides a front-end to a range of software development lifecycle services and integrates with a number of free software / open source software applications .While originally itself...
where they have resided since.
IRC Channel
Founded in around July 2004, ##linux-india on freenode has become the premier IRC channel for linux/foss enthusiasts in India. The channel usually has between 30 to 50 members on at a time. There are members from all over India with the biggest contingents being from Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. The channel holds a loose allegiance to the dormant Indian Linux Users Group.Some channel old timers and regulars include(in no particular order) OldMonk, f3ew, Hobbes`, no_mind, baks17, VivekVC, binand, vIkSiT, jace, tazz, stephdg, z00dax, gora, svaksha, jeevan_ullas,ramkrsna,t3rmin4t0r, mary, Lap_64, koolhead, KillerX.
In 2008, a Mailing list named linux-india-channel
was created to facilitate the channel IRC channel regulars and channel operators to discuss the IRC channel policy and other relevant discussions related to the Linux India IRC channel.