Auroville Residents’ Assembly Decision to pause all clearing, infrastructure laying and permanent construction work on the Right of Ways of Crown, Radials …

“To pause all clearing, infrastructure laying and permanent construction work on the Right of Ways of Crown, Radials and Outer Ring in order to enable the community to define a way forward for Auroville’s development, following:

  • collective processes,
  • the ‘Master Plan: Perspective 2025’ framework,
  • and other relevant regulations.

The outcome shall be approved through a ratified Residents’ Assembly Decision-making process, before the above specified clearing, infrastructure laying and permanent construction work resumes”.

In my view, the call to decide to ‘pause all’ is a bit lost and late. Why?

Lost because, it is calling to pause all work, which I understand, given the circumstances, but, until when? As they say, the devil is in the details. Further, it says… ‘in order to enable the community’, but doesn’t define ‘What will make the community feel adequately enabled?’ Then again, it says, ‘to define a way forward’. To be noted, not ‘to move forward’, but only to further ‘define’, which again is an ambiguous term.

Point to be noted is ATDC is already structured in a way that enables the community to participate in self-organisation. Refer the Standing Order for ATDC, 2019. The mandate and the roles are already defined in it. Why duplicate and waste our already thin community resources? Why not ‘COLLECTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN THE EXISTING COMMUNITY PROCESSES’ ?

Second, Late because, the work of clearing, infra laying and construction work on RoW of Crown has started long back, in 2009. The first work order to make the Crown Road was given then. Subsequently, work has taken place in the mentioned areas in sporadic ways. If at all, someone had apprehensions, there was a 12 year window to put forth alternate ideas, and even join ATDC to change as they wish. In fact, many protesting figureheads were part of ATDC, why didn’t they bother to correct the course, while it was still in the cold storage. Realistically, it is now almost impossible to pull back this decision, after having enacted all the drama till now. However, there is still scope to discuss the Radials and outer Ring Road. I wish we could focus our energy on the radials and outer ring, rather than the Crown. I’m ok for losing a battle to win a war.

The final para, ‘The outcome shall be approved through a ratified Residents’ Assembly Decision-making process, before the above specified clearing, infrastructure laying and permanent construction work resumes” is a bit worrisome too, as it puts a condition that work can only resume, provided we arrive at an outcome, given the undefined terminologies like ‘Collective Processes’ and ”Other’ Relevant Regulations’ – we can happily dedicate our lifetime to define what those are – we still arrive at some decision. Let’s say we decide to meander blissfully and avert the endangered Darkali. Now, the question is, will the work be stopped if Auroville loses the NGT case against the Auroville Foundation?

Let’s put this in context.

ATDC presented its plan for ‘the Crown’ to the Secretary, Auroville Foundation in August 2021. Yours truly was part of the ATDC then.

ATDC informed the Secy, AVF that the HTL of Crown is incomplete as the stewards are unwilling to allow the HTL to go through the planned circle.

Secy, AVF agreed to support ATDC in finishing the ‘long-pending’ work, and wanted to know the status of the pending roads. When it declared that it is bankrupt (which ATDC is, it depends on BCC and other willing donors) and cannot finish the work due to paucity of funds, she committed to get a GOI grant to help ATDC finish the work.

Secy, AVF believed she could take ATDC out of the logjam and went on a slew of meetings, walks, discussions, etc to find a solution to the stewards’ concerns.

Then, came October, and the new Governing Board members visited Auroville, listened to the requests of various working groups and assured support to finish ATDC’s work.

Again, many a meetings followed. Btw, there are 17 stewards on the pending crown area and almost all of the them agreed to the CRoW plan barring B, YC and D. They were asked to present their concerns and possible solutions to ensure the Crown goes as per plan. For eg. an alt space for YC or for Darkali, a type of technical solution to move the man-made water catchment area a bit, or to build bridges over stormwater flow, or transplanting trees, or anything else that they deem fit, as a solution to find a way for CRoW. However, the solutions from B,YC&D only recommended design changes to the CRoW plan itself. This was disappointing from ATDC’s point of view. Though, I think the responsibility for the misunderstanding rests on the ATDC. ATDC was ambiguous and flexible in its messaging, yet firm and quick in its actions.

In November, as requested by the Secy, AVF, it gets the necessary funding for the Crown, Radial and Ring work. And, the Crown work was supposed to be finished by 31st Dec. ATDC takes its sweet community-recognised work style and time. Honestly, ATDC was accustomed to working in hand-to-mouth mode, it did not have the wherewithal to shift gears and accelerate. We wondered, pondered and squandered the time.

Fast forward to Dec 3, the minutes of the meetings of the Governing Board are released and Secy, AVF requests ATDC to start the work immediately.

ATDC starts it on 4th Dec and ‘somehow’ continues till 10th Dec. Auroville gets a stay order from National Green Tribunal to stop the felling of trees until further notice.

As of today, the 17th Jan, the stay continues. If the stay is lifted, most likely the work shall resume, as the GB most likely believes they’re supporting Auroville Community work, as nothing came from them. They must wonder what all this hue and cry is about, after all they’re only helping implement Auroville’s own Master Plan (spare me the whataboutery). Can the RAD stop the resumption of work? Excuse the long detour.

Do we, as Auroville Residents’ Assembly, have a power to over-rule the GB’s decision? By all means, we can wish, request, advice, plead, beg, pray, appeal, ask, solicit, petition, seek, invoke, etc. to the GB to change their mind, for the sake of Auroville. But, of course, our enlightened mind, elevated soul, and advanced selves may find it demeaning. On the other hand, can we order, demand, summon, dictate, stipulate, pressure, command, impose, declare that the GB abide by the ‘community’ decision?

The Auroville Foundation Act, clearly defines the roles and powers. We may interpret it the way we want for internal consumption, but, would it help our cause?

I wonder, will we truly win, even if we win against the larger, external powers. I wonder what will be left of the community after winning? I also wonder what are we afraid of losing? as we anyway do not own anything physically.

I personally came to Auroville for inner work, and I’ve great battles to be fought there. And, my first battle ought to be against writing long essays.

Aurovillage, Ep.3

It’s really interesting how most people in Auroville seem to define “human unity” as “unity with those that agree with me”.For decades, the people who want to live in Mother’s City have accepted that their wish was blocked, time after time after time. They understood that it needed to be like that, because, well, that’s yoga: accepting that outer circumstances are beyond our control, and that we simply do whatever work we are given as a means for inner growth.For decades, the people who blocked and got it their way 100% of the time were allowed to play their games, thereby giving these same people the impression that all was so utterly peaceful and nice and “together”and “united” in the immensely divided Aurovillage.

Now that, very predictably and logically (given our actions in the past), the outer circumstances, outside of our control, suddenly put a blockage in front of the people who have made a life out of blocking stuff, what is the reaction?: all hell is released upon the people who wish to live in Mother’s City.

Suddenly they are Asuras, worshippers of the Darkness, the devil personified, evil beings and everything nasty this universe has ever produced…

A tiny little interest in how cults function and cult members behave would teach us so much…”

The first casualty of war is the truth”. Yes. And since this war was started decades ago, the truth was killed here at that time already.

The very LAST casualty of this war will be the cult delusion narrative, that tiny bubble that is the life force of so many here, created during the killing of the truth.

Many will keep feeding it until their last breath, in spite of all the facts and realities.

I always could and still can hug everyone here in Auroville if they want to. Totally regardless of whatever insane beliefs they hold.

Because under all that superficial insanity is a human being, with whom I am united.

Aurovillage, Ep.2

Over many decades, a false cult narrative has been created in Auroville, by people who materially benefited from Auroville, to justify the fact that what has been happening here since 45 years is almost the opposite of what the intention was.

Many people who also want a piece of that cake bought into the narrative, and it has been the main reason to come and live here for many. Over the decades it became the official doctrine that needs to be adhered to if one wants a comfortable life in Auroville.

The people who have denounced this narrative and pierced it with facts have always been vilified, for obvious reasons. It is now a religious “war”, a fight to keep the cult and its illusion propaganda alive and accepted as reality, even more by the people OUTSIDE of Auroville, as the cult leaders get most of their power from the image of Auroville they are able to project and sell in the West.

Aurovillage, Ep.1

The only thing that is happening in the City at the Service of Truth, is the piercing of the 45-year old cult illusion bubble.


For most of us, 45 years is the better part of our lives. For those born here, it’s their whole life. For those who came to live here recently, it’s the most important belief system they bought into so far, as it is needed to buy into this cult narrative if one wants to live here comfortably.


Whether it will be replaced by another doctrine needs to be seen, but obviously, members being forced out of their cult will always fiercely resist, no matter how many facts they get presented.


At the moment, in the whole world, we witness the total erosion of meaning and definitions of words.


“Facts” are no longer verifiable, provable, objective events that can be brought or adjusted by anyone who presents proof, no, they are now simple claims, “proven” only by the fact that many people or a majority “believes” them, or by the fact that they are told to us by “experts”. These mere claims are very aggressively and emotionally defended by the believers, labelling and slandering anyone who does not blindly follow suit.

That same thing is happening here: no logic, no rationality, no factuality, ONLY emotional reactions, claims, vilification, outcry, outrage, screaming and kicking.

You can see it in every post on this topic.

If you are still able to see, that is, because any cult indoctrination will always target and erode the capacity to see independently, to think critically, to be an individual observer of actual events. We are trained to be blind regurgitators of the narratives fed to us. And if all around us do it, we think we’re doing the right thing by going along…