KOCHI: While V S Achuthanandan is primarily remembered for his long and impactful political career, his legacy also profoundly shaped Kerala’s engagement with the global Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) movement. His deep-rooted communist ideology, with its inherent opposition to monopoly and proprietary control, found a natural and powerful ally in the FOSS philosophy.
VS came into contact with the proponents of free software during his time as LDF convener, when E K Nayanar was the chief minister, from 1996 to 2001. Krishnadas Menon, a former SFI leader with Thrissur Engineering College and an active member of the People’s Planning Campaign (PPC), revealed that the initiative to network local bodies in Kerala sparked the idea of using free software as a political tool.
According to Das, it was the late Joseph Thomas, a BSNL staff member and union leader of the National Federation of P&T Employees (NFPTE), who approached VS with concerns about using proprietary software. Thomas warned that it would compromise the decentralised campaign’s underlying politics, lead to royalty issues, and burden the government.
“VS trusted Thomas, whom he had known for years through NFPTE. The communist ideology resonated with the politics behind supporting the free software movement and VS asked us to brief the party secretariat. He associated himself with it ever since,” Das pointed out.
Meanwhile, Kerala’s free software movement gained momentum from around 1996, with various groups organising meetings and conferences on the topic. A pivotal event was the ‘Freedom First!’ conference held in Thiruvananthapuram in July 2001, where Richard Stallman, founder of the GNU Project, inaugurated the Free Software Foundation of India (FSF India).
Joseph C Mathew, former IT advisor to the chief minister during Achuthanandan’s tenure, said, “Free software was chosen due to its politics. We approached many political leaders in the state, but it was VS who took interest and championed it. As a result, free software was incorporated into the general education curriculum. And it has now become an integral part of our governance. VS’ support gave free software visibility at the national level too.”
A former director of IT@School recalled that Kerala was the first state to mandate IT as a subject, necessitating an IT lab in every school with at least 10 computers. “Implementing proprietary software across these computers would have put a significant strain on the state treasury to educate students in government schools.
Today, nearly 14,000 schools running on FOSS and educating thousands of students is perhaps the largest movement of its kind globally. When VS became chief minister in 2006, he took it a step further by passing a policy that made Kerala the first state in India to formally adopt a pro-FOSS IT policy, underscoring the government’s commitment,” he said.
Das reminisced that union leaders of the Kerala School Teachers’ Association (KSTA) advocated the exclusive use of FOSS in schools, which was a crucial factor in tipping the balance.
“The presence of VS was instrumental in this movement, particularly when there were those within the government and the CPM who favoured a mix of free and proprietary software or believed that only proprietary software was viable,” he said.
The VS-led government established the International Centre for Free and Open Source Software (ICFOSS) in 2009. ICFOSS is the culmination of a decade-long effort by free software enthusiasts, advocates, developers, and supporters within Kerala and beyond.