History of Linux in Surat

The first ever Linux Users Group in India started in REC(Regional Engineering College) Surat, and was called Bharat linux Users Group.
The idea of starting Bharat Linux Users Group (BLUG) came when linuxers from REC Surat along with some linuxers in India who used to frequent IRC #linux (undernet) decided to start a linux mailing list in India. Therefore the BLUG was started in March 97 as a venture to keep all linux users in India in regular touch with the latest happenings and developments in the linux community around the globe, to grow awareness for Linux and to provide solutions to the problems faced by users. It was initially started with some 40 members, which included some 15 enthusiastic linuxers from REC Surat. The list has now grown to some 100 odd members all over India and is maintained at REC Surat by students. The url of BLUG is http://www.svrec.ernet.in/~subbu

This Group serverd for someyears and after the linuxers left the college the activity of the group stopped some times after it.
Then after few years some linuxers from surat met again and started Surat Linux Users Group. Most of them were students from SCET (Sarvajanik College of Engineering And Technology). They have formed a small club named "Open Source Movement Group"; motivated from BLUG.(Thanks to Vijay Rathi for sharing this information). Unfortunatly this also stopped after few years, the details of members of this group is not availabale.

Then after few years again some linuxers met in Surat, and they formed a Linux Users group, It started with Two members first Rohan Bhagat and Nikhil bhagat in July 2004, they called it Linux4Surat, after that Mr Bimal Rekhadiya joined the group followed by Mr Yagnesh Desai in 2006. And after long converstaions of Discussions among Rohan,Mr. Yagnesh and Mr. Bimal, they started a mailing list of Linux4Surat on google groups.

And as the time passed the mailing list got momentum among the linuxers of South Gujarat. After that the group changed its name to Surat Linux Users Group (SLUG),in the end of Dec 2007.

In March 2008, the group registed a domain name of suratlug.org, and started the website, during this time group is having the members around 50.

This Surat Linux Users Group is now maintained by Rohan Bhagat.

And the website and forum of this group is maintained by Rohan, Bimal, Aslam and Mr Yagnesh.

Please share the information you have about the former Linux Users Group in Surat.
please mail your information to webmaster at suratlug dot org