Background to Auroville

Auroville wants to be the first realisation of human unity based on the teaching of Sri Aurobindo, where men of all countries would be at home. 

Auroville

The city-in-the-making is located on the Coromandel Coast in south India. It draws its inspiration from the vision and work of the renowned Indian seer and spiritual visionary, Sri Aurobindo. His spiritual collaborator, The Mother, founded the township in 1968 and gave its Charter, which you find scrolling on our homepage. The writings of these visionaries, and the specific guidelines for Auroville given by the Mother are crucial for in-depth understanding of what is trying to be achieved in Auroville, a collective experiment dedicated to human unity and international understanding.

Human Unity

“With the present morality of the human race a sound and durable human unity is not yet possible; but there is no reason why a temporary approximation to it should not be the reward of strenuous aspiration and untiring effort. By constant approximations and by partial realisations and temporary successes Nature advances“, writes Sri Aurobindo, and this reality stands central in Auroville and acts as perpetual encouragement for the residents to persevere. During all our meetings, deliberations and plannings, we are acutely aware of how vast and how high our aim is, for “— in it must be found the means of a fundamental, an inner, a complete, a real human unity which would be the one secure base of a unification of human life. A spiritual oneness which would create a psychological oneness not dependent upon any intellectual or outward uniformity.”

Puducherry

Auroville’s location in south India is connected with the fact that the Mother had been living in Puducherry since 1920. It was there, in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1964 that the idea of Auroville was conceived. Both Sri Aurobindo and the Mother had expressed in their earliest writings the necessity of starting, at some point, a collective experiment under optimum conditions – ideally in the form of a city – in order to create a bridgehead for a new consciousness which was seeking to manifest in the world. The Ashram itself, formally created in 1926, was a first attempt in that direction. It was only in 1964 that the Mother felt that the time had come for such a bold experiment to be started on the bigger scale of a township.
The name ‘Auroville’ was given in homage to Sri Aurobindo, while also meaning ‘City of Dawn’. The idea was recognised and taken up by the Government of India. A location near to Pondicherry was found. The time was right, the wheel set in motion, and support started coming in. The inauguration took place on February 28th, 1968.

Worldwide support

Since the very beginning, Auroville has received the unanimous endorsement of the General Conference of UNESCO in 1966, 1968, 1970, 1983, 2007. Governmental and Non-Governmental Organisations in India and abroad have funded various development programmes, and donations have been received from foundations in Europe and the USA, from Auroville International Centres, and from private donors around the world. The residents themselves have also made, and continue to make, a major contribution of their resources and energy to the project.

Multifarious activities

Auroville is intended as a city for up to 50,000 inhabitants from around the world. Today its inhabitants number around 2000 people, drawn from some thirty countries. They live in 100 settlements of varying size, separated by village and temple lands and surrounded by Tamil villages with a total population of over 35,000 people. Their activities are multifarious, and include afforestation, organic agriculture, educational research, health care, village development, appropriate technology, and building construction, information technology, small and medium scale businesses, town planning, water table management, cultural activities and community services.

In 1988, the Government of India passed the Auroville Foundation Act to safeguard the development of Auroville according to its Charter. This Act established three constituent bodies: the Governing Board, which would oversee the development of the township in collaboration with its inhabitants, the Residents Assembly and the International Advisory Council, which can provide international support and advice, when required, to the Governing Board.

Faith in humanity’s future

As the world is rapidly changing and groping for new paradigms to re-model itself, so Auroville stands poised at the start of a new millennium, ready to enter a new phase of its development and growth, and aware of a new flowering of the faith in humanity’s future that it represents.

The City the Earth Needs

Auroville Mission Statement

“Auroville wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realise human unity.”
The Mother, Founder of Auroville

This was the first public message on Auroville sent into the world in 1965. Three years later, at the inauguration ceremony of Auroville on 28th February 1968, youth representing 121 nations and 23 Indian states placed a handful of earth in a lotus-shaped urn, symbolising the creation of a city dedicated to international understanding and planetary transformation.

Programmes

Envisaged as a city for 50,000 people, Auroville is an emerging township of presently about 2,500 volunteers from India and from some 50 countries around the world. Located in a rural area of Tamil Nadu, South India, it is surrounded by 13 villages with a population of approximately 40,000 people.

Over the past decades, Auroville has been dedicated to a wide range of development programmes, in many of which it has made impressive achievements. Programmes have been carried out in the following fields of activity:

Support Base

Auroville received the unanimous endorsement of the General Conference of UNESCO in 1966, 1968, 1970 and 1983. Governmental and non-governmental organisations in India and abroad have funded various development programmes. Donations have also been given by foundations in Europe and the United States, by Auroville International Centres and private donors from all over the world. The Auroville residents themselves have made a major contribution of financial resources and energy to the Auroville project.

In 1988, the Government of India passed the Auroville Foundation Act to safeguard the development of the International Township of Auroville according to its Charter. Under this Act, an autonomous institution, the Auroville Foundation, has been established with a Governing Board presently chaired by Mr Kireet Joshi and an International Advisory Council. In his presentation of the Act before Indian Parliament, Sri P. Shiv Shanker, the then Indian Minister of Human Resource Development, said:

“Auroville is to be looked upon as a vision which has a great potentiality and this can be of tremendous service to our country and the world at large.”

Arts & Culture

Over the past decade, Auroville has developed a multifarious cultural scene that is quite remarkable for a population of just over 2,000 people.

Many outstanding music performers, both from within India and abroad, perform regularly in Auroville. Eminent musicians such as Zakir Hussain, Shiv Kumar Sharma, Pandit Jasraj and Marcus Stockhausen have been giving concerts. Live performances by Auroville residents of western and eastern classical music, as well as of jazz and popular music, and blends of Indian and western music occur frequently. Music education is given for a variety of western and eastern instruments, such as vocals, violin, piano, flute, guitar, tabla and harmonium. Also, an adult’s and a children’s choir is regularly rehearsing and giving performances.

Resident theatre artists have created several theatre groups who perform in English or Tamil. A wide range of theatre classes, such as acting, improvisation and mime are being offered to adult Aurovilians and children alike. Teachers in the Auroville schools use original theatre, music and dance to explore body expression and induce concentration and imagination.

Auroville has been fortunate to host many visiting dancers of national and international repute, while the background of the dancers residing in Auroville is diverse. Predominant is the influence of western contemporary dance and of Bharat Natyam, the traditional dance form of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Dance education follows naturally the intense dance activities and is part of the curriculum of the Auroville schools. Today classes are offered in improvisation, modern dance, Indian classical dance and African dance.

Besides local productions, international publishing companies such as Amity House, Banyans Books, Writers Workshop and Penguin have published poems from Auroville poets. One of Auroville’s Tamil poets has been officially laureated as one of the great modern poets of India.

Numerous artists resident in Auroville have studied in art institutions all over the world. They are exhibiting their works in Auroville as well as in India and in major galleries in Europe. The preferred media are oil, acrylic and watercolours, pastels, pencil and chalk. For sculpture and bas relief works a variety of materials such as terra-cotta, ceramics, plaster, wood, metal, marble and granite are being used.

Auroville is an affiliate member of RES ARTIS, an international network which promotes residential exchange programmes for artists world-wide to do research, work with other artists, and to strengthen international ties and understanding of the diverse cultural heritages that invigorate the human society.

Educational Research

Auroville’s Charter speaks about Auroville as “a place of unending education”, thus introducing the concept of a life-long process of development towards a person balanced in body, mind and spirit.

Auroville’s educational research endeavours to nurture the child’s potential to its highest possible level, and is based on a child-centred approach. A free choice system, allowing the student to increasingly choose his/her own subjects for study, is gradually being introduced, in particular in the more advanced courses. Also, sports and physical education are strongly emphasized for balanced and healthy growth of the children. Artistic training is an intrinsic part of Auroville’s system of education, which encourages the child to develop his/her artistic faculties and sense of beauty.

At present, there are crèches, kindergartens, primary schools and one high school in Auroville, next to 4 day-schools and over 15 part-time evening schools for the children of the nearby villages. About 1000 children from the neighbouring villages and from Auroville are benefiting from Auroville’s educational programme.

Research papers on Auroville’s educational work are regularly published and two major publications “The Aim of Life” and “The Good Teacher and the Good Pupil” have been produced to help invigorate a new, integral approach to education.

Education in Auroville is administered under the umbrella of the Sri Aurobindo International Institute for Educational Research (SAIIER), an organisation established in 1984 to focus on Auroville’s multi-faceted educational and cultural activities for both children and adults.

Environmental Regeneration

Auroville has gained national and international acclaim for its wasteland reclamation and reforestation work. More than 2,500 acres of near barren and visibly dying land have been transformed into a lush green area. Comprehensive contour bunding and the building of small check dams for soil and water conservation have significantly enhanced the life-support potential of the whole area. Over 2 million forest trees, hedge trees, fruit, and fuel wood trees have been planted.

The Auroville Centre for Ecological Land Use and Rural Development, “Palmyra”, has been carrying out soil and water conservation, and reforestation programmes over the last decade on almost 3,000 acres of village land with a total of more than 1.2 million trees having been planted. Palmyra also offers training programmes for farmers, NGOs, and government officers in the field of ecological and sustainable land use.

Handicrafts and Small-Scale Industries

There are more than 100 commercial units, both large and small, operated by Auroville at present. Their activities are diverse and include handicrafts (such as ready-made garments for adults and children, candle and incense products, embroidery, crochet, quilts, hand painted silk, beadwork, jewellery, postcards, leather work, pottery, paper lampshades, woodwork, etc.), printing and graphic design, food processing, electronics and engineering, computer software, windmill manufacturing, and construction and architectural services.

In terms of its own maintenance, Auroville wishes to become increasingly self-sufficient. Auroville’s commercial units have an important role to play in achieving this objective. Besides generating funds to assist the community in maintaining its basic services and infrastructure, the units provide employment and training for the local villagers, enabling them to improve their standard of living and acquire valuable skills. At present, about 5,000 villagers are employed in Auroville.

Health & Healing

Many systems of primary health care are in use in Auroville, including allopathy, homoeopathy, acupuncture, chiropody, podology, massage, chromato-therapy, and others.

The Auroville Health Centre, recognised as a Mini Health Centre by the Tamil Nadu State Government, is equipped with basic medical facilities and staffed by an international team. It serves the Auroville community as well as about 200 patients daily from the villages at its headquarters in Kuilapalayam and its sub-centres. A team of 30 local women trained as village health workers serve in 17 villages, giving first aid, home cures and basic health education. The Auroville Health Centre also runs a dental care unit, a children’s home for pediatric treatment, a medical lab, a pharmacy and a small medicinal plant garden, and offers several preventive health programmes to village women and children.

Under the aegis of The Indian Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT), Auroville hosts one of the 15 Medicinal Plants Conservation Parks which are being set up in the three South-Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The aim of these centres is to revive the local health traditions and the ancient medical systems of India as described in the Ayurveda and its Tamil equivalent, the Siddha. For this purpose, Auroville has established an ethno-medicinal forest area to conserve medicinal plant diversity, an outreach nursery focusing on medicinal plant propagation and distribution, and a Bio-Resources Centre dedicated to education, training and research in the use of locally available medicinal plants in primary health care.

In 1997, a new healing centre complex, “Quiet”, near the beach was inaugurated to focus on providing alternative healing therapies. An international homoeopathic seminar, led by world-renowned homoeopaths from India and UK, marked the beginning of a new chapter in Auroville’s endeavour to combine new therapies with conventional health care.

Since July 2008 Kailash Clinic is operating, right in the middle of Auroville. It is a pilot project of the Integral health Services (IHS), based on an interdisciplinary approach to medicine.

It is providing doctor’s consultations, first aid and wound dressing in the morning and complementary therapies in the afternoons.

Innovative Building Technologies

Auroville has gained considerable knowledge and expertise in the field of innovative, appropriate and cost-effective building technologies, especially earth construction and ferro-cement.

Earth construction uses compressed earth blocks, made with a manual press from local earth mixed with 3-5% cement. The blocks are usually produced on the building site, without polluting the environment or depleting the forests, as no kiln firing is required.

Ferro-cement is a thin cement mortar laid over reinforcing wire mesh, thus employing steel and cement in a highly efficient and cost-effective manner. It is cheap, strong, versatile and long lasting, and the basic techniques are easily acquired, making this building technology readily accessible to the neighbouring villagers. Ferro-cement doors, roofing channels, water tanks, biogas systems, latrines and other building components are being manufactured in Auroville.

The Auroville Building Centre, which is part of a national network of more than 500 building centres all over India initiated by the Housing and Urban Development Corporation of India (HUDCO), provides regular training programmes for masons, master masons, site supervisors, contractors, engineers, and architects. It also offers consultancy, designs buildings and supervises construction sites using these appropriate, cost-effective building technologies. In 1995 and in 1996, the Auroville Building Centre received via HUDCO the yearly Outstanding Performance Award from the Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation for its activities in this field.

Integrated Urban Planning

Auroville is located on a low-lying plateau on the south-eastern coast of India, 160 km. south of Madras. At the centre, both physically and spiritually, stands the nearly completed Matrimandir, “the soul of Auroville”. Started on 21st February 1971, construction work on this structure has continued uninterruptedly ever since. The inner chamber of Matrimandir, a place for silence and concentration, has been completed and, at present, the work focuses on finishing the outer structure and creating the surrounding gardens.

Four zones will radiate out from the Matrimandir gardens: International, Cultural, Residential and Industrial. The Green Belt, an area for promoting biodiversity, environmental restoration and organic farming, will eventually surround the entire city area. While much of the land still has to be purchased, Auroville presently manages about three-quarters of the total acreage within the future city area, and about 25% within the Green Belt.

The present community of Auroville consists of some 100 settlements of varying sizes. Auroville has created a basic infrastructure of roads, water and electricity supply, and telecommunications, including an electronic communications network. Accommodation has been constructed for 1,500 people, and municipal services for food production, purchase and distribution, electricity and water supply, waste disposal and recycling, education, health care, financial transactions, and town planning have been established.

The Auroville Township Master Plan 2000 – 2025, which has been recently endorsed by the Government of India, is dedicated to the challenge of creating an environment-friendly, sustainable urban settlement that, at the same time, integrates and cares for the neighbouring rural area.

Auroville’s concept is therefore to build a city that will economise on land needs by introducing development approaches with an optimum mix of densities and appealing urban forms and amenities, while the surrounding Green Belt will be a fertile zone for applied research in the sectors of food production, forestry, soil conservation, water management, waste management and other areas which assist sustainable development. The results of such innovative methods would be available for application in both rural and urban areas in India and the world.

Organic Farming

The development of an ecologically sound agriculture, which excludes the use of pesticides and detrimental chemicals, and the application of agro-forestry techniques are being actively pursued in Auroville. Efforts are being made with the surrounding village farmers to reverse the process of growing cash crops using chemical inputs in the form of fertilisers and poisonous pesticides such as DDT. Alternative biodegradable pesticides are being developed and marketed as part of an overall attempt to re-introduce sustainable agricultural practices throughout the bioregion.

Training programmes are regularly organised for farmers from the surrounding area. On the national level, Auroville has participated in many Indian conferences on organic farming, and hosted in April 1995 an All-India seminar on organic farming under the name “ARISE: Agricultural Renewal in India for a Sustainable Environment”.

Renewable Energy

Concerned with the ecological implications of energy consumption, Aurovilians have been experimenting with the use of renewable energy sources from the beginning. The major forms of renewable energy utilised in Auroville are solar, wind and biomass. At present, more than 1,200 photovoltaic (PV) panels are in use for electricity and water supply. Some 30 windmills of various designs are in operation for pumping water, and specially designed ferro-cement biogas systems process animal and vegetable waste to produce methane gas and organic fertilisers. Today, Auroville has become a major testing ground for renewable energy sources in India.

The Auroville Centre for Scientific Research (CSR), a research institution approved by the Government of India in 1984, is the focal point for many of these activities. It also runs “Awareness Workshops towards a Sustainable Future” for NGO’s, government officials, students and professionals on the sustainable techniques applied in Auroville.

Rural Development

Rural development has been a major activity of Auroville since its inception. There are 13 villages in the immediate neighbourhood, comprising about 40,000 people, and altogether 40 villages in the bioregional area. At present, ten Auroville working groups have dedicated themselves to fostering sustainable programmes in these 40 villages.

With funding from a number of national and international organisations, Auroville’s rural development programme aims at:

  • raising the standard of living of the local population through vocational training and self-employment;
  • involving the villagers in a cooperative effort of wasteland reclamation and organic farming;
  • improving the health situation through education, preventive care and treatment;
  • empowering women and providing education to the village children;
  • encouraging in each village the growth of community spirit and a sense of self-confidence through social initiatives, micro-projects and awareness campaigns.

Towards human unity 

“A new spirit of oneness will take hold of the human race…”

Towards unity?

Vasudhaiva kudumbakam, said the ancient Indians: the world is one family.

The ideal of human unity, which was already present at the dawn of civilisation, has never appeared so close to realisation, but paradoxically the closer we come to it, the more it seems to elude us. It is as if at the onset of the 21st century the need for human unity has never been so great, and yet quite often this very unity, seen as inevitable, is perceived as somewhat threatening.

World in crisis

We speak of mondialisation, of globalisation, and in the same breath we deplore the dangers of uniformity.. We speak of democracy as a universal ideal and of the progress of all nations towards it as irreversible, and yet at the same time this democratic model is perceived as a system imposed by some nations on others. We are facing environmental problems which threaten the very survival of our planet. We are aware of ‘global warming’ and a decrease in the finite resources of the planet, and we know that in order to tackle these common problems the individual nation-state is not an adequate institution anymore. But the very concept of a supra-national body is perceived as a possible infringement on the sovereignty of the nation-state, won in numerous cases after many decades – or longer – of struggle and pain.

Erasure of cultures

We claim that today’s world is a global village, because technological progress has made our earth very small, and news can instantly reach every inhabitant of the earth through the highroad of information. But there is the fear that this global village culture may erase the diverse cultures of the earth; indeed it is argued that there is already an immense drive towards uniformity of life habits and uniformity of knowledge.

Economic front

On the economic front, the much-talked-about liberalisation process is seen by many as an attempt to impose everywhere a model only suited to some countries, and to spread everywhere a culture of consumerism. A computer for everyone and bread for only one quarter of the world population; is this the goal towards which we are advancing?

Science

In the 19th century, intellectuals saw the progress of science as the great factor which would lead to the unification of mankind, since science was a thing common to all men in its conclusions and was international in its very nature; but we know now that science can be misused, and is being misused, to discover more and more means of destruction. We have lost faith in science as a panacea for all evils, but what is there to replace it?

Biggest obstacle

We know that egoism is the biggest obstacle to a life of harmony and peace on earth, but after so many centuries of civilisation no amount of religious preaching or moral teaching has been able to convince the ego to forego its claims, as to speak to him of fraternity is to speak to him of something fundamentally contrary to his nature.

Need for real unity

Therefore it appears that although we are moving somewhat reluctantly towards a kind of unification, this is not a process likely to solve the many acute problems of the earth, nor will the envisaged unity answer the deeper needs and aspirations of the human being. In fact, we have begun to understand that if we want to preserve the freedom for man to develop and grow in all liberty, this unity cannot be built through mechanical means. It cannot be achieved as long as man does not recognise a real unity between man and man; it cannot be arrived at through social and mechanical devices; and we have even started to realise that if its aim is not to bring about a fairer, brighter and nobler life for all mankind, this unity is hardly desirable.

Man will be surpassed

It becomes therefore urgent to understand what this unity is towards which we feel pushed in spite of ourselves. Man is a transitional being, said Sri Aurobindo shortly after the first World War, evolution continues and man will be surpassed. Not only did Sri Aurobindo foresee the next step in the evolution of man, but he told us how to participate in it: instead of remaining a passive spectator in a painful and incomprehensible process, we could consciously collaborate in our own evolution and break free of our seemingly inextricable bonds.

Using inner means

But for this, we have to reverse the process, said Sri Aurobindo, and instead of using external means, we have to turn inward, because without a change in man’s nature no real changes in the external circumstances are likely to take place. The only way we can move towards unity is to progressively realise that there is a secret Spirit, a divine Reality in which we are all one – not only realise it mentally but discover it in ourselves and live this knowledge. The secret of unity is within, said Sri Aurobindo; the secret of brotherhood is within. There is no unity except by the soul, there is no real brotherhood except in the soul and by the soul. Only when we live from the soul and not from the ego will a real unity reign on earth.

Connecting with the new consciousness

This ‘spiritual age of humanity’ then will represent a transformation in the nature of man as momentous as the appearance of the thinking mind on earth. In the same way as for millennia the mind was the centre of our life, so, in the new age opening for humanity, or ‘supra-mental’ age, the soul will become the centre of all life and activities. A new stage in the evolution of man has already begun; a new consciousness, higher than the mind, a truth-consciousness, as Sri Aurobindo said, in which the dualities, hesitations and limitations of the mind and the greed and blindness of the ego will no longer exist, has already started to appear, and all the upheavals and convulsions that are at present so painfully tearing our earth are the outward signs of this evolutionary crisis. This new consciousness is already at work in the atmosphere of the earth: we can connect with it, we can call it in ourselves, we can use it to transform our entire nature and consequently the world in which we live.

It is in this wide and far-reaching sense that Auroville is dedicated to human unity. All are invited.

Auroville in brief

What is Auroville?

Auroville is a universal township in the making for a population of up to 50,000 people from around the world.

How did Auroville begin?

The concept of Auroville – an ideal township devoted to an experiment in human unity – came to the Mother as early as the 1930s. In the mid 1960s the concept was developed and put before the Govt. of India, who gave their backing and took it to the General Assembly of UNESCO. In 1966 UNESCO passed a unanimous resolution commending it as a project of importance to the future of humanity, thereby giving their full encouragement.

Why Auroville?

The purpose of Auroville is to realise human unity – in diversity. Today Auroville is recognised as the first and only internationally endorsed ongoing experiment in human unity and transformation of consciousness, also concerned with – and practically researching into – sustainable living and the future culturalenvironmental, social and spiritual needs of mankind.

When did Auroville start?

On 28th February 1968 some 5,000 people assembled near the banyan tree at the centre of the future township for an inauguration ceremony attended by representatives of 124 nations, including all the States of India. The representatives brought with them some soil from their homeland, to be mixed in a white marble- clad, lotus-shaped urn, now sited at the focal point of the Amphitheatre. At the same time the Mother gave Auroville its 4-point Charter.

Where is Auroville?

Auroville is located in south India, mostly in the State of Tamil Nadu (some parts are in the State of Puducherry), a few kilometres inland from the Coromandel Coast, approx 150 kms south of Chennai (previously Madras) and 10 kms north of the town of Puducherry.

Who are the Aurovilians?

They come from some 59 nations, from all age groups (from infancy to over eighty, averaging around 30), from all social classes, backgrounds and cultures, representing humanity as a whole. The population of the township is constantly growing, but currently stands at around 2,500 people, of whom approx one-third are Indian.

Overview of the city plan

The city layout
The city layout

Peace Area

At the centre of the township lies the Peace Area, comprising the Matrimandir and its gardens, the amphitheatre with the Urn of Human Unity that contains the soil of 121 nations and 23 Indian states, and the project of a lake to help create an atmosphere of calm and serenity and to serve as a groundwater recharge area.

Industrial Zone

A 109-hectare area to the north of the Peace Area, the Industrial Zone, a zone for “green” industries, is focused on Auroville’s efforts towards a self-supporting township. It will contain small and medium-scale industries, training centres, arts and crafts, and the city’s administration.

Residential Zone

The largest of the four city zones, comprising of 189 hectares, the Residential Zone is bordered by parks on the north, south and west. Main access to the zone will be through the crown road with further traffic distribution via five radial roads that divide the zone into sectors of increasing densities. This zone wants to provide a well-adjusted habitat between individual and collective living. 55% of the area will be green and only 45% built surface, thereby creating an urban density balanced by nature.

International Zone

The International Zone, a zone of 74 hectares to the west of the Peace Area, will host national and cultural pavilions, grouped by continents. Its central focus is to create a living demonstration of human unity in diversity through the expression of the genius and contribution of each nation to humanity

Cultural Zone

Planned on a 93-hectare area, situated to the east of the Peace Area, the Cultural Zone will be a site for applied research in education and artistic expression. Facilities for cultural, educational, art and sports activities will be located in this zone.

Green Belt

The city area with a radius of 1.25 km. will be surrounded by a Green Belt of 1.25 km width. As a zone for organic farms, dairies, orchards, forests, and wildlife areas, this belt will act as a barrier against urban encroachment, provide a variety of habitats for wildlife, and serve as a source for food, timber, medicines etc. and as a place for recreation.

Presently an area of 405 hectares, the Green Belt – though incomplete – stands as an example of successful transformation of wasteland into a vibrant eco-system. Its further planned extension with an additional 800 hectares will make it into a remarkable demonstration site for soil and water conservation, ground water recharge, and environmental restoration. As lungs for the entire township, it will complete the healing process that Auroville started several decades ago.

The Galaxy concept of the city

In terms of physical development, Auroville aims at becoming a model of the ‘city of the future’ or ‘the city the earth needs’. It wants to show the world that future realisations in all fields of work will allow us to build beautiful cities where people sincerely looking towards a more harmonious future will want to live.

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Violence in its many forms

Dear friends

I consider myself as pacifist, and are trying to avoid any violence in thoughts and actions.

I have been working in many high tension areas and war zones, and I think I know violence in all its many forms, from the silent, to the verbal to the physical. Everybody tend to focus only on the last, but all forms are violence, and the physical only comes after the first ones. Some people feel fine being very verbally violent as long as they refrain for letting it become physical – but it is the same.

One small early life experience made a huge impact on me. As a young student, I was very outspoken and had a good sharp tongue, and often made fun of people and situations. One evening after having made fun of many people, I was passed up by a big strong guy. He gripped my collar, and said that if I continued making fun of him, he would beat me up. He said I was good with words, and he was not, but I used the words as weapons. HIs only weapon was his physical strength, and he would use it if I continued. His logic hit me very deep, and still do. There is no real difference between verbal violence and physical violence.

I love Auroville and Auroville is my home. But I never seen Auroville as a very peaceful place, despite our spiritual aspirations. Many other cultures and communities I have experienced, are far more peaceful! The way we interact and communicate is pretty harsh. I normally stay out of Auronet as I find it a very violent space. 

I really hope we can step back from entering into physical violence here in Auroville, but would like to remind people that we should also try to lower our non-physical violence. The way we communicate, the way we block each other, the way we refer to each other. To me it is often very violent and uncomfortable. I hope that we can learn from this conflict, and reflect on our way of collaborating and communicating

A larger perspective

Dear Friends

We are all focused on the events taking place right now.

But they are all part of a much larger perspective. It seems to be a conflict  between two different groups in Auroville, but this has been a conflict going on for many years, and nobody has taken any new action. The action comes from the new Governing Board and the Secretary,

I would really want all fellow aurovilians to read very carefully two documents:

The Foundation Act (ready available on Auronet under References)

Last Minutes of The new Governing Board first meeting (posted on Auronet by Working Committee)

The Foundation act is a very precise document stating the roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders. Everything in Auroville belongs to the Foundation and all structures and decisions are under the acceptance of Foundation?governing Board and Secretary. Our Residence Assembly as well as Working Committe basically only have an advisory function. The final say and control is with Governing Board and Secretary.

I think a lot of Aurovilians are under an illusion that Auroville is a kind of Independent “state” within India with full autonomy. It i for sure not the reality. Our self-governance is given to us from Governing Board and Government of India, on a purely trust basis, and can anytime be revoked.

As a foreigner living in Auroville, I am very grateful for India to allow this International Township to exist. I dont think any other nation would allow it, for sure not my own country, Denmark. And I also fully understand that the condition is not autonomy, but a self-governance given in kind and trust.

So before any aurovilian think about fightning the decisions of Governing Board and Secretary, they should first read the Foundation Act, and plaease also read the minutes of last Governing Board Meeting.

The governing Board meeting is a very clear, surgical analysis, of all problems in Auroville, divided into sectors. And with clear proposals and decision what the Governing Board intends to do. The Crown road is a very small part of this – I repeat a very small part of this!

I will ask you to think back few years. The previous Governing Board, trying to solve the growning problems of Aurovilles dysfunctionality and stagnation. We had our large Retreat, which was a beautiful process ( And I would again like to thank Aroma Revi for his large effort) which brough us all closer, but after the process all was blocked and energy disappeared. 

Meanwhile we had all our bad press with allegations of corruption and misuse of power in Auroville, whis ended up as a serious case in Ministry of Human Ressources, where Auroville is under. So when same ministry had to appoint a full new Governing Board as well as secreatary, I am sure that they were asked to look very carefully into Auroville and its affairs.

So is any of us was appointed to these jobs, we would first, really carefully, read the Foundation acts as well as all the files, including all the Governing Board Meeting notes, which clearly describes the growing dysfunctionality of Auroville. The Foundation act clearly outlines the responsibility of The Governing Board, its members, as well as the Secretary. Besides to keep everything in order and legally correct ( which is another challenge), it is to implement the Master Plan. The new Governing Board members as well as new Secretary of course take their job seriously, so the minutes from forst board meeting, can notb really be a surprise to anyone. And action will of course come accordingly. And Crown road is still just a very small part of this.

Our previous Chairman, Karan Singh, had given us a very long line, adding to the “belief” that we had kind of autonomy. But I ask all to read his message to Auroville, just published, saying that all aurovilians should consider carefully the actions in the last decade, and be aware of the Hammer of God!

So to all my fellow aurovilians, please be fully aware of our situation and options. Fighting agains Governing Board or Secretary will be a futile action, Trying to recall members of working groups or damaging our internal structures, will be just pure self damage. Collaboration is the only way forward – the only way!

In the end we have to come to an acceptance that The Governing Board as well as The Secretary is also OUR Governing Board and OUR Secretary. I know it sound difficult in times of conflict, but it is the only way forward. Each of us can not move much, but together we can!

Reflection on the verge of going into administration

Sitting here in sad mood seeing the first steps of Governing Board exercising their right to give direct orders and taking over administration.

Reflecting upon why is has come to this point – our governing structure in The Foundation Act is a beautiful construction, where a respectful “dance” between the partners should have created the future. Now the dance is stopping and we are back to legal points.

Been going through the vast pile of documents from the last 10 years of “dance” between Governing Board and Auroville. It has been a bit hard, I thought I knew it as I have lived it, but seeing it all in chronological order, it is difficult not to see it as the same story repeating over and over again.

The comprehensive list of issues from Governing Board last meeting, is nothing new, it has been part of meetings for a very long time. There are many beautiful things in Auroville, but our governance systems and compliances are low, and we have not been able to improve them. Each year we have been giving the same excuses, community processes, selection processes, working on it, putting down a study group etc. It is quite embarrassing to see the flow of excuses. And the Governing Board have been patient, very patient. And they have tried many things – putting in experts, we all remember Bankim, Aromar Revi, Doshi amongst other, and tried with workshops and retreats.

 Governing Board have been so patient that we have come to see their non-interference as a “Law of Nature” – that we were the small masters of this micro universe. Maybe this long patience have actually been a disservice to us, as the changes coming now will be much deeper than 5 years ago. The current situation we are in, we only have ourselves to blame.

So finally the Governing Board have lost their patience and are starting exercising their power in accordance with the Foundation Act. And don’t blame the Governing Board or Secretary, I am sure that most of us, if we had been in their seats, would have lost our patience long ago.

How deep this intervention will go all depend on all of us, and how we act as a community. If we come forward in a collaboratory manner, work and change all the issues which we know are there, then the intervention will not go deep.

But if we protest, sabotage or obstruct the intervention will go much deeper.

I really hope we all take this an opportunity to move forward and collaborate. In reality The Foundation is The Governing Board, the International Advisory Committee and RA. Without the 3 columns working together we cannot progress. We aurovilians can not work alone, the last 10 years have clearly shown that, and the others can not work without aurovilians. We all need each other – unity in The Foundation!

Time for some humble introspection for all.

It takes two dance a Tango.

The Dance is not about rules and regulations, but are an act of creation.

For many years we have been dancing the same solo dance, and our partner have been trying to get our attention and into the dance.

Now he lost the patience, and stopped the music.

Now we have to decide upon we will dance together, or we will be standing angry on the side line, while the partner will perform his solo dance for the years to come.

A message from Dr. Karan Singh

Dear Community members,

Please see below a message from Dr. Karan Singh sent to the Working Committee on 21.01.22.

With best regards,

The Working Committee

***

Dear Working Committee,
 

Thank you for your New Year greetings.  Despite all the recent tension I sincerely hope that you will move forward with the Secretary in a coordinated manner to start the long and difficult task of building the Aurobindo Township.

Warm regards to you all,

Karan Singh

21.01.2022

RAD Outcome – To pause all clearing, infrastructure laying and permanent construction work on the Right of Ways of Crown, Radials…

Dear Residents,

Here are the results of the RAD (voting): “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”.

A total of 899 valid votes have been submitted online and in-person. The number of participants exceeded the 10 per cent quorum required to validate the decision (243 votes).*

* Based on data received form the Residents Service, the total adult population of our community eligible to participate in RADs (age – above 18, confirmed Aurovilians) is 2427 (as of the month of January 2022).

RESIDENTS’ ASSEMBLY DECISION:

89% (803) Aurovilians supported the above proposal.

11% (96) Aurovilians DID NOT support it.

According to the RAD policy, “8. Responsibility for implementing decisions made through this RAD process lies with the concerned working group/s or resident/s”.

Many thanks to all the residents who participated in this decision-making event!

~ With gratitude,
The Residents’ Assembly Service