And while you may actually be accurate in your observation that there has been a 'thread drift', further discussions around the meta nature of the drift does not really help the cause. The original email (way back in this thread) contained the rationale proposed by the PSSI about the selection of the keynote speakers. Somewhere in the middle there has been a list of candidates for the keynotes slots. The listing of the names have brought forth a discussion about the rationale as well as another point that merits some form of discussion (in this thread or, a fork). This is the topic of the speaker being "aware of the local issues". 

My take on this is that such a specific criteria really veers towards a 'sock puppet' keynote speaker. These 'local issues' have not (to my knowledge, and I do read the list frequently) been extensively discussed. Thus, assuming that a 'local' (or, 'Indian') speaker can parachute in; identify the issues; propose solutions and in general deliver a rousing keynote is somewhat of a stretch. I did enjoy keynotes from Kiran and Kushal - for various specific reasons. But neither of them pretended to be soothsayers and solace suppliers. It would seem that for 2015 we are looking at a keynote speaker to make the Indian Python community aware of the issues and then write out a prescription. This approach is an easy and somewhat ill-fated one. And the exhausting discussion around selection criteria makes it sound like the candidates need to meet some checklist of requirements. It does not honor the current list of candidates who are worthy of being on stage in their own right and on the strengths of their contributions. Let's not drag this down to the level of "Oh! (S)he is speaking because they needed an Indian speaker!". Please, let's not.

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