Is Linux Improving Life Of Poor In India?

mood6 writes "Linux Journal has a nice article on Automating Government with e-Governance. It discusses Linux usage by the Indian government to improve the lives of the rural poor (interesting look at how the IT boom in India is benefiting the poor). The article covers some of the difficulties in deploying Linux in non-English languages for government usage. Good read for those looking at Linux in e-Governance projects and a good follow up to a previous article by Tom Adelstein. In support of full disclosure: I wrote the article and the platform was developed by Delixus, my current company."

Comments

And yet...

[Anonymous Coward]

Gandhi was swept into office, until she declined it, by the poor who felt left out of the economic boom. One of these observations disagrees with the other.

If linux has been helping the poor, it wasn't very much in their eyes.

Re:And yet...

[AgntOrnge]

I would have to guess the poor don't even know what or have never even heard of Linux. If I were living in abject poverty I think I'd be more concerned with putting food on the table or having a roof over my head than realzing the benefits of some silly computer.

Prime Minister

[MulluskO]

Although Ghandi has refused the position, I heard that one of the main reasons the previous prime minister of India was so unpredictably ousted was because the rural constituents felt marginalized by his focus on developing high-tech industry while regular industries and agriculture were suffering. I think there's a luddite streak running through the Indian poor that was previously unnoticed.

Linux isn't all that common

[bobhagopian]

On a recent trip to India, I could not help but notice that not a single computer I encountered was running Linux, despite all the hype (and I saw hundreds of computers). They were all running pirated copies of Windows 95 and 98. When you have the ability to pirate software (without any real fear of prosecution), there's one less incentive to switch to free (as in $0, not as in freedom) software. Usability isn't a real concern to those at the lowest socioeconomic levels; what matters is the mere existence of computer technology.

Re:Linux isn't all that common

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm a US born Indian, so I have a good idea of what both US and Indian cultures are like. I'm also an Engineer, so I know a fair number of technical people in both countries.

Recently, I spent four months touring India, top to bottom, east to west. I can tell you that the *VAST MAJORITY* of people there use pirated copies of MS software.

Most of the people I encountered, even people in "IT" programs at colleges, were only aware of MS products. Most had not a clue what Linux or FreeBSD were. When I installed Mozilla on their machines they didn't even know web browsers other than IE existed...they though that MS invented the web browser. Exceptions to this ignorance were those at the absolute premier educational institutes and some in industry but by percentage it was very very *very* small.

Also, I think the parent is wrong on one point, usability is actually a big factor. After all, when you install Linux and something doesn't work, the majority of us spend time on-line searching for answers (i.e. why does LILO give me "LI"?).

If a dial-up connection isn't available (or even reliable) how do you troubleshoot? How do you download kernel sources or even 1 - 2MB packages on unreliable software-based 56k modems that connect at 21.6 kbps?

The reality is that most people there are fine with a half-assed Win98SE based installation. Most home users, even those of affluence with fast P4s, don't realize all the different things PCs can be used for. For them e-mail, simple word processing and older DOS games are the extent to which they use it.

And as for Linux helping farmers, I have to cry nonsense. Much of time I spent was in vasty rural areas (agricultural villages where a lot of my family is) and I can tell you finding someone with a good telephone connection is rare let alone someone with even a 286 PC...

this is a complicated question

[v1x]

The outcomes of the latest election were interpreted by the political experts as an outright rejection of the notion that the country's newly-found strength in IT had benefitted the rural poor. In the light of this, it would seem unlikely that any one technology (not just Linux) would have had a noticeable improvement in their lives. Then again, perception and reality can sometimes be two completely opposite things, so one can never be sure of that either.

please OMG

[Ckwop]

I'm not trolling.. I'm not a troll (look at my history to see that) but seriously..

LINUX IS JUST SOFTWARE.

It will not:

1.) Feed the hungry.
2.) Bring world peace.
3.) Become a viable renewable power source.

It's just free software.. and that's a good thing.. :D

Simon.

Re:Is Linux Improving Life Of Poor In India?

[acceber]

Is Linux Improving Life Of Poor In India?...Linux with its low cost, high security and open standards is rapidly becoming the driving force behind this revolution.

Although living standards have dramatically improved for all Indians, it is still widely considered to be a third world country.

Approximately 25% of the Indian population are below the poverty line

The water supply is so polluted that people must buy or boil their water.

The poor are discriminated against in education.

Health care in India? What health care?

If Linux claims to improve the life of the poor in India and proves it, even if it's "just" computers, then it's addressing the very real and continually growing division between the rich and the poor in regards to technology and computer use.

Hell, some people have never seen or heard of what a computer is.

The answer is No

[romit_icarus]

Indians have more immediate needs, water and electricity (pani aur bijli), before they can seek the benefits of e-governance.

That's the reason why Chandrababu Naidu, a sophisticated and technology-aggressive politician, got the boot.

Good basic governance comes before e-governance.