Joseph Thomas, the founder-president of the Free Software Movement of India, who passed away at his home at Kureekad near Chottanikkara on Friday evening, dabbled in varied fields from trade unions to People’ Plan Programme before shifting his focus to the area of free software.
The Democratic Alliance for Knowledge Freedom, which he founded, has described him as an irreplaceable leader in the fight for knowledge freedom.
Kuriakose A.V., a long-time friend and neighbour who worked with Thomas for years at the Central Telegraph Office in Ernakulam, remembered him as a person who was committed to the cause he took up. “As a district resource person, Thomas played a key role in the People’s Plan Programme at Chottanikkara, making it one of the first panchayats where it was successfully implemented. He was also instrumental in the formation of neighbourhood groups as part of the programme. He was a popular figure who strived for people’s participation in whatever initiatives he was involved in,” he said.
Thomas served as the national president of Free Software Movement of India, State secretary of the All India Telegraph Traffic Employees Union Class-3, and a key resource person of People’ Plan Programme.
He was among the earliest proponents of free software and realised the significance and potential of the concept of knowledge freedom. He seamlessly shifted his domain from People’s Plan Programme to free software movement.
Thomas had also organised a knowledge gathering at Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, in 2003 and a national meet of free software movement at the Cochin University of Science and Technology in 2008.
