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Comment by abi | Hacker News Reader

So what if 101 Indians got into GSOC? Why is this on the frontpage of HN (or IN rather)?

That's kind of my sentiment but mostly because I believe stories like this keep the idea of racism alive. Does race really have anything to do with the 101 individuals from XXXX country? No. This post lacks substance on many levels. I would have preferred to read about the lives of the 101 Indians as advocates of technology and progression in their country, and the barriers they've faced: geographic, cultural, fiscal, etc.

I find that a very strange sentiment. Nationality != race, and there is no hint of such a connection in the linked article.

This sort of information is interesting and even important because it says something about the culture and state of education of the country in question. Demographics of the American Math Competition are informative in the same way.

My fault, I made an ASSumption about the articles message but I understand that nationality != race, I live in America after all. :) Nevertheless, I still believe articles that promote racial pride keep racism alive.

success depends on the number of barriers you have met, but is not entirely based on it. 101 Indians qualifying for GSoC 2009 DOES show "progression", as you put it. Racism is completely out of the context and i see no reason why this page should`nt stay here!!!

I know I am stating the obvious, but it's up there because enough HN users thought it was important enough. (my best guess would be misplaced national pride)

If enough users find a submission objectionable enough to flag it, it will be killed automatically. Flagging, though not as gratifying, is faster, easier, and usually more effective than submitting a comment complaining about a submission. If your karma is lower than the flagging-allowed threshold, karma-whoring is easy.

If you click through the links you can find out the actual number of people who are accepted from different countries (not just from India). http://google-opensource.blogspot.com/2009/04/announcing-acc... I guess a few here would be interested in that.

Unfortunately it seems to only list the top handful and first timers.

Hey gopalakrishnan, if I wanted to contact you, how would I go about doing that?

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