Computers get a Hindi face

Free software now has another tongue to speak in, and Hindi-speaking users of software not restricted by copyright restrictions will henceforth be able to use the computer with their own language. IndLinux.org—a not-for-profit network meant to promote Indian language solutions for free software—has announced the launch of IndLinux Milan v0.37, a Hindi interface to Gnome, the graphical user interface (GUI) of the GNU/Linux operating system. The software is available as a free download from the website.

‘Free software’ offers the option of usage without prohibitive licensing fees for every computer on which the software is installed. ‘Free’ refers to the freedom offered rather than to the price, however, since such products can also be priced, although they can be freely copied.

GNU/Linux, also called Linux, is one of the prominent free software operating systems, which is gaining in popularity among student geeks, professionals and industry too as India discovers the amazing potential of this open-source software, which can be freely worked on and developed further.

Said Venkatesh Hariharan, co-founder of Indlinux.org: "Milan software enables Hindi users to use computers in their own language, a major leap forward in bringing the benefits of information technology to Indian masses."

This step could help in bringing the benefits of IT, and affordable computing, to millions of people who speak the Hindi language.

Prakash Advani, co-founder of IndLinux.org said that the organisation has been working on localising the GNU/Linux operating system to Hindi for the last three years. Localisation involves changing the menus and other elements of the graphic user interface from English to Hindi.

"Hindi is the third largest language in the world, yet there are no operating systems available in this language. IndLinux.org therefore decided to make Hindi support available for free to create a revolution in Indian language computing," said Advani.

Digital mainstream

GNU/Linux campaigners argue that as the world becomes increasingly digitised, Indian language audiences need to be brought "into the mainstream of the digital revolution" so that they can also reap the socio-economic benefits of information technology.

The IndLinux Milan software promises to plug a critical gap in the market, since popular operating systems and software are available only in English which is spoken by a mere five percent of India. IndLinux Milan v0.37 works on Red Hat Linux v8.0 and the organisation is working on porting it to other distributions of the GNU/Linux operating system.

Advani said that they chose the name Milan (Hindi for "union") because it signifies the inclusion of India’s Hindi speaking masses into the mainstream of the digital age. As the cost of computers fall, the biggest bottleneck to the widespread use of computers is the availability of Indian language software. By making the software available free of cost, Indlinux.org says IT could reach each and every part of India.

IndLinux.org is a voluntary, not-for-profit effort that has been supported by Netcore Solutions, a Mumbai-based technology company founded by Rajesh Jain. After having localised GNU/Linux to Hindi, the organisation hopes to localise the GUI to Marathi, Gujarati and other Indian languages.