Auroville (; City of Dawn) is an
experimental township in
Viluppuram district
Viluppuram, Villupuram or Vizhuppuram is one of the 38 districts that make up the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded on 30 September 1993, prior to which it was part of the Cuddalore district. Vizhuppuram district lies in the way of the ...
, mostly in the state of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, with some parts in the Union Territory of
Pondicherry
Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...
in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
It was founded in 1968 by
Mirra Alfassa
Mirra Alfassa (21 February 1878 – 17 November 1973), known to her followers as The Mother, was a spiritual guru, occultist and yoga teacher, and a collaborator of Sri Aurobindo, who considered her to be of equal yogic stature to him and ...
(known as "the Mother") and designed by architect
Roger Anger
Roger Anger (24 March 1923 – 15 January 2008) was a French architect who worked on the Auroville project, designed by Mirra Alfassa and endorsed by UNESCO and the Government of India. He also collaborated many times with Pierre Puccinelli, not ...
.
Etymology
Auroville has its origins in the French language, "Aurore" meaning dawn and "Ville" meaning village/city. Additionally, it is named after
Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950).
[Auroville, the Fulfillment of a Dream](_blank)
by Lotfallah Soliman. UNESCO Courier. January 1993 Retrieved 28 May 2016.
History
At its Annual Conference in 1964 and with Mirra Alfassa as its Executive President, the Sri Aurobindo Society in
Pondicherry
Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...
passed a resolution for the establishment of a city dedicated to the vision of
Sri Aurobindo. Alfassa was the spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo, who believed that "man is a transitional being". Alfassa expected that this experimental "universal township" would contribute significantly to the "progress of humanity towards its splendid future by bringing together people of goodwill and aspiration for a better world". Alfassa also believed that such a universal township will contribute decisively to the Indian renaissance.
Alfassa's first public message in 1965 stated:
Site
A site, approximately 20 square kilometres of barren wasteland, some 10 km north of Pondicherry and 5 km from the coast, was chosen for the city.
Inauguration
The inauguration ceremony attended by delegates of 124 nations was held on Wednesday 28 February 1968. Handwritten in French by Mirra Alfassa (
the Mother), its four-point
charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
set forth her vision of integral living:
# Auroville belongs to nobody in particular. Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole. But to live in Auroville, one must be the willing servitor of the Divine Consciousness.
# Auroville will be the place of an unending education, of constant progress, and a youth that never ages.
# Auroville wants to be the bridge between the past and the future. Taking advantage of all discoveries from without and from within, Auroville will boldly spring towards future realizations.
# Auroville will be a site of material and spiritual researches for a living embodiment of an actual human unity.
The Matrimandir
In the middle of the town is the
Matrimandir
The Matrimandir (Sanskrit for ''Temple of The Mother'') is an edifice of spiritual significance for practitioners of Integral yoga, in the centre of Auroville established by The Mother of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. It is called ''soul of the cit ...
, which was conceived by Alfassa as "a symbol of the Divine's answer to man's aspiration for perfection". Silence is maintained inside the Matrimandir to ensure the tranquility of the space, and the entire area surrounding the Matrimandir is called the Peace area.
Inside the Matrimandir, a spiraling ramp leads upwards to an air-conditioned chamber of polished white marble referred to as "a place to find one's consciousness".
Matrimandir is equipped with a solar power plant and is surrounded by manicured gardens. When there is no sun or after the sunset, the sunray on the globe is replaced by a beam from a solar-powered light.
Radiating from this center are four "zones" of the City Area: the "Residential Zone", "Industrial Zone", "Cultural (& Educational) Zone" and "International Zone". Around the city or the urban area, lies a Green Belt which is an environmental research and resource area and includes farms and forestries, a botanical garden, seed bank, medicinal and herbal plants, water catchment bunds, and some communities.
Legal status and government
Prior to 1980, the Sri Aurobindo Society legally owned all of the city's assets. In 1980, the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
passed the Auroville Emergency Provision Act 1980, under which it took over the city's management. The change was initiated when, after Mirra Alfassa's death in 1973, serious fissures in the day-to-day management developed between the Society and the city's residents. The residents appealed to
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...
, then
Prime Minister of India
The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...
for an intervention. The Society challenged the Government's action in the
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...
. The final verdict upheld the constitutional validity of the government's action and intervention.
In 1988, after the verdict, a need was felt to make a lasting arrangement for the long term management of Auroville. The city's representatives along with Sh. Kireet Joshi, then Educational Advisor to the Union government, met for consultations with the then Prime Minister,
Rajiv Gandhi. Later that year, th
Auroville Foundation Act 1988 was passed by the
Indian Parliament
The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...
. The Act stipulated the vesting of all movable and immovable assets of the city in a foundation, known as Auroville Foundation and the creation of a three-tier governing system: the Governing Board; the Residents' Assembly and the Auroville International Advisory Council. The Governing Board selected by the Government of India consists of seven prominent Indians in the fields of education, culture, environment and social service in the areas of Auroville's ideals. The International Advisory Council comprises five members also selected by the Government, chosen from people who have rendered valuable service to humanity in the areas of Auroville's ideals. The Resident's Assembly consists of all official residents of the city. All three governing bodies are meant to work in harmony and collaborate to accomplish the ideals of Auroville as mentioned in the charter, as per processes defined in th
Auroville Foundation Act
The Auroville Foundation, headed by a chairman, is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Human Resource Development. The HRD ministry appoints the seven members of the Governing Board and the five members of the International Advisory Council. There is also a Secretary to the Foundation, appointed by the Government of India, who resides and has an office with supporting staff in Auroville. The Foundation currently owns about half of the total land required for the township. The remaining lands are being purchased whenever funds are available.
Chairmen
*
Karan Singh
Karan Singh (born 9 March 1931) is an Indian politician and philosopher. He is the son of the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, Sir Hari Singh. He was the prince regent of Jammu and Kashmir until 1952. From 1 ...
– former Union Minister, 1991
* Dr. M. S. Swaminathan – renowned agricultural scientist
* Dr. Kireet Joshi – former Special Educational Advisor to the Government of India
Society and population
The township was originally intended to house 50,000 residents.
[Auroville in brief](_blank)
Official website. Updated 30 March 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2016 In the initial 20 years, only about 400 individuals from 20 countries resided in the township. In the next 20 years, this number rose to 2,000 individuals from 40 countries. ,
it has 2,814 residents (2,127 adults and 687 children) from 54 countries with two-thirds from India,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
[Census – Auroville population May 2016](_blank)
Official website for Auroville Retrieved 28 May 2016 The community is divided up into neighborhoods with Tamil, English, French and Sanskrit names like ''Aspiration'', ''Arati'', ''La Ferme'', ''Auromodel'' and ''Isaiambalam''.
Demographics
The population break-down:
Surrounding villages
Auroville works closely together with the surrounding villages, where mainly Tamil people reside, via the Auroville Village Action Trust under which many different projects including the villages fall. The biggest one under the trust is the
Auroville Village Action Group (AVAG), which has programs for women's empowerment, education, and financial support, and also sells its own products in the name of AVAL, Surya and Kudumbam as social enterprise work. Other activities falling under the trust are the Life Education Centre, Auroville Industrial School, Mohanam cultural centre, Auroville Health Services, Deepam school for handicapped children, Thamarai community centre, Martuvam Healing forest, and the Reach for the Stars! program enabling higher education for village youth. Concerns exist because of violence allegedly caused by criminal elements entering from the surrounding villages.
Economy
Instead of paper and coin currency, residents are given account numbers to connect to their central account. Visitors are requested to get a temporary account and an Aurocard (debit card).
Residents of Auroville are expected to make a monthly contribution to the community. They are asked to help the community whenever possible by work, money, or kind. The "guest contribution", or a daily fee paid by the guests of Auroville, constitutes a part of Auroville's budget. There is a system of "maintenance", whereby those Aurovilians in need can receive from the community monthly maintenance which covers simple basic needs of life. Auroville's economy and its overall life are of an evolving nature and there are ongoing experiments to reach closer to the vision.
The Government of India only finances a small part of Auroville's budget, which is mainly formed by contributions from Auroville's commercial units which contribute 33% of their profits to Auroville's Central Fund and by donations, largely foreign, from Auroville's multiple international bases set up all over the world. There are guest houses, building construction units, information technology, small and medium scale businesses, producing and re-selling items such as handmade paper for
stationery
Stationery refers to commercially manufactured writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, writing implements, continuous form paper, and other office supplies. Stationery includes materials to be written on by hand (e.g., letter pape ...
items, organic food, as well as producing its well-known
incense
Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also b ...
sticks, which can be bought in Auroville's own shop in
Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to:
* Puducherry (union territory), a union territory of India
** Pondicherry, capital of the union territory of Puducherry
** Puducherry district, a district of the union territory of Puducherry
** Puducherry t ...
. They are also sold online in India and abroad. Each of these units contributes a considerable part of their profits to the township. Over 5,000 people, mostly from the nearby localities, are employed in various sections and units of Auroville.
Other activities include
afforestation, organic agriculture, basic educational research,
health care
Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...
, village development,
appropriate technology
Appropriate technology is a movement (and its manifestations) encompassing technological choice and application that is small-scale, affordable by locals, decentralized, labor-intensive, energy-efficient, environmentally sustainable, and locally ...
, town planning, water table management, cultural activities, and community services.
Location
Auroville is composed of a cluster of properties some north of
Pondicherry
Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...
. It can be easily reached via the
East Coast Road
East Coast Road (ECR), combination of SH-49, NH-332A, NH-32, officially known as Mutthamizh Arignar Kalaignar Road, is a two-lane highway (now being partially upgraded to four-lane way from Chennai to Mamallapuram) in Tamil Nadu, India, built ...
(ECR) which connects
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
and Pondicherry. The visitor center and
Matrimandir
The Matrimandir (Sanskrit for ''Temple of The Mother'') is an edifice of spiritual significance for practitioners of Integral yoga, in the centre of Auroville established by The Mother of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. It is called ''soul of the cit ...
can be reached by traveling westwards from the signposted turnoff at the ECR Bommayapalayam. Turning east leads directly to Auroville's private beach called Repos, several hundred meters away.
Climate
It is included in the sub-humid tropics (
wet-and-dry tropical climate) situated on a plateau region with its maximum elevation of above sea level located in the Matrimandir area.
The annual rainfall average is mainly from the SW monsoon (June to Sept.) and NE monsoon (Nov to Dec) with a dry period of approx 6 months.
The average maximum temperature is , average minimum .
Communications and media
The Auroville website provides open as well as restricted forums for various projects, interests, organizations, and outreach which make up the life of the community. The opinions expressed in these publications are not necessarily those of the community at large. The Auroville radio website provides recordings and daily news covering local events. Auroville also has an internal 'OutreachMedia' team to regulate visits of journalists and film/video makers, which has served the community for many decades. Their aim is to ensure that all journalists and filmmakers get official, up-to-date information and representative footage from reliable sources. Owing to recent and ongoing developments within the community, this team's legitimacy and sovereignty is currently under question.
Films about Auroville
At present, any filming within and about Auroville requires land permission from the Government of India. Many filmmakers visit Auroville, and a wide range of films are available. These include
* ''Ever Slow Green - Re-afforestation in Auroville, South India'', full length, 56 minutes, 2020
* ''City of the Dawn'', full length, 80 minutes, 2010
* ''Auroville, the outline of a world'', full length, 25 minutes, 2009
* ''Auroville – A Dream of the Divine'' (part 1 and 2), full length, 20 minutes in two parts, 2003
* ''Spiritual journey... Auroville'' (Духовное путешествие... Ауровиль), six 25-minute videos on Auroville by Russian filmmakers, 2013
* ''The India Trip'' full length, 49 minutes, from the
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...
, 1971
* Auroville topics can also be heard on Auroville Radio, and the films about Auroville screened at the biennial Auroville Film Festival.
50th anniversary
By occasion of the 50th anniversary of Auroville on 28 February 2018 the Indian President
Ram Nath Kovind
Ram Nath Kovind (; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician who served as the 14th President of India from 2017 to 2022. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the second person after K. R. Narayanan, from the Dalit community ...
sent a message to the community in which he called Sri Aurobindo "one of modern India's greatest sages". He also wrote that Auroville "represents humanity's aspiration for peace and goodwill" and that it is "a unique symbol of human unity".
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
visited the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and Auroville on 25 February 2018. After a meditation in the Matrimandir and participation in some functions he gave a speech in the Sri Aurobindo Auditorium. He referred to the Auroville Charter and the basic principles of life in the community. Then he said, "Indian society is fundamentally diverse. It has fostered dialogue and a philosophic tradition. Auroville showcases this ancient Indian tradition to the world by bringing together global diversity." At the end of his speech, he expressed his wish that Auroville may continue developing and supporting new and creative ideas for India and the whole world.
BBC child abuse investigation
In May 2008, the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. A short version was aired on
". It also appeared on BBC Online. The reports contrasted the idealism of its founders with allegations by some people that the community tolerates
, especially in a school that Auroville has established for local village children.
Auroville filed an official complaint to the BBC that the report was biased, untrue and contravened BBC editorial ethical guidelines.
After investigations
did not uphold the complaint.
On December 4th, 2021, local police, joined by a group of outsiders, began demolishing the Auroville Youth Centre – uprooting the surrounding trees with the help of
. Despite the protests by the residents, on December 5, more than 900 trees were bulldozed across 67 acres in Auroville. An internal petition signed by more than 500 Auroville residents requested postponement of the development work on the Crown Road ‘Right of Way’, until the Auroville community would arrive at a collective agreement on a practical way forward. An application filed by some residents of Auroville against the ongoing illegal clearing of forests by the Auroville Foundation led the Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) of India to order an interim stay on felling of trees on the 17th of December, 2021.
This ban against tree felling inside Auroville was extended by the NGT until the next court hearing on January 3
which directed the Auroville Foundation Office to prepare a proper township plan and apply for Environmental Clearance (EC) under Item 8 (b) of th
Till then they were directed not to proceed with further construction in the project area with the exception ofets the completion of the crown road given a Joint Committee comprising officials in forest, wildlife, and state departments inspect the area in question and the Auroville Foundation Office undertake the crown road work in the remaining stretches where there are no trees.
; English:
* Abundance Publications. ''The Auroville Handbook.''Pondicherry: All-India Press, 2007.
* ''Auroville – Development Perspectives 1993–1998 – An Invitation To Participate'', Typoscript, Autoren/Hrsg. Auroville Development Group, Bharat–Nivas, Auroville 1993, no ISBN
* K. M. Agarwala (Hrsg.): ''Auroville – The City Of Dawn'', Sri Aurobindo Center New Delhi 1996, no ISBN
* ''Auroville References in Mother's Agenda'', Auroville Press, Auroville, no Y., no ISBN
* Jerome Clayton Glenn: ''Linking the Future:
'', published by Hexiad Project/ Center on Technology and Society, Cambridge, Massachusetts 1979, no ISBN
* Anupama Kundoo: ''Roger Anger, Research on Beauty, Architecture 1953–2008'', JOVIS Verlag Berlin 2009,
* Peter Richards: ''Experience!Auroville – Guide Book for Guests and Visitors'', Pondicherry 2000, no ISBN
* Savitra: ''Auroville: Sun-Word Rising – A Trust For The Earth'', published by The Community of Auroville, Auroville 1980, no ISBN
* ''The Auroville Adventure – Selections from ten years of Auroville Today'', published by Auroville Today, Auroville 1998, no ISBN
* ''The Auroville Experience – Selections from 202 issues of Auroville Today, November 1988 to November 2005'', published by Auroville Today, Auroville 2006, no ISBN
* Jessica Namakkal
in ''Journal for the Study of Radicalism'', Volume 6, Number 1, Spring 2012, pp. 59–88 (Published by Michigan State University Press)
*
« Encouraging Young People to Develop Social Entrepreneurship in a Community the Case of Auroville ». Case center, reference n°320-0123-1. ESSEC Business School 2020.
*
« Auroville, from utopia to responsible innovation: from the emergence of a utopian community to the development of entrepreneurial initiatives ». Case center, reference n°819-0026-1. ESSEC Business School 2019.
;German:
*
: ''Die Mutter über Auroville'', Auropublikations (Hrsg.), Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Pondicherry 1978, no ISBN
* Renate Börger: ''Auroville – Eine Vision blüht'', Verlag Connection Medien, Niedertaufkirchen 2004, 3. veränderte Aufl.,
* Alan G. (Hrsg.): ''Auroville – Ein Traum nimmt Gestalt an'', o.O. (vermutlich Auroville/ Pondicherry) 1996, 1. dt. Aufl., no ISBN
* Michael Klostermann: ''Auroville – Stadt des Zukunftsmenschen''; Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt/M., Februar 1976;