nandivarman’s blog

KALAIGNAR's SAMATHUVAPURAM

versus

AUROVILLE TOWN OF IN-EQUALITY

The sovereignty of India and the sanctity of the Constitution of India must be borne in mind before the Ministry of Human Resources continues to support an international city project called Auroville within Indian Territory. To generate employment various Special Economic Zones are being set up, and whatever may be the initial hiccups, ultimately it provides employment to our people and helps them come out of poverty. Any government on Earth will naturally moot out and support projects that will better the lives of the people. But the international city being set up in Tamil soil marginalizes Tamil people in their own soil, tries to make them second class citizens in their own homeland, while select few harvest profits without paying minimum wages or taxes, and under the guise of being a trust, organization, association, under the umbrella provided by Auroville Foundation. Here the loophole in the Act needs to be plugged and lacunae removed will be the main thrust of our memorandum here.It is high time the Ministry of Human Resources Development takes stock of the situation and evaluates the purposes and results achieved in order to affect corrective steps for proper functioning of Auroville Foundation.

The Auroville, international city on Indian soil aimed at bringing 50,000 people into its fold, and here it must be understood that the people must be of foreign nationality or racial superiority and not the backwards and downtrodden living in villages around Auroville centuries, neither the fishermen living in coast from time immemorial. This itself is Social Injustice. Instead of integrating all people living in the area, where international city comes, to use philosophical phrases like an ideal society needs ideal men, as claimed by an Aurovillian in BBC interview, is aimed at keeping Tamils as outcasts in their own soil.

The greatest achievement of Dr.Kalaignar M.Karunanithi is the introduction of Samathuvapuram, a Town of Equality, integrating all castes and bringing social harmony. Many such Samathuvapurams have come up in Tamilnadu. It is a goal rest of India should follow suit to bridge the gap between caste divide, a curse in our society. The Auroville Foundation, must use the funds it gets from various donors and agencies, to make AUROVILLE as Samathuvapuram, and also canalize funds to develop all Samathuvapurams of Tamilnadu.

The Residents Assembly of Auroville has only 1700 people, that too half of it being foreigners .It is strange that even after 40 years the Auroville could not become a full fledged town of 50,000 people, but remains with only 1700. This means it has failed to achieve its goal. Then the need arises for the Ministry of Human Resources Development to bring in remedial measures. We have an international town. We have it under your Ministry's control. When it slips into the downward slide of failing in its goal, your ministry has all rights to intervene. We, Dravida Peravai, urge you to bring suitable amendments to the Auroville Foundation Act, to make it a town of internationally displaced Tamil people, who have been driven as refugees. If the word Tamil refugees may sound harsh to the ears of the bureaucracy, it can be a town where Tamil refugees put up in various camps, Burma Refugees, and Tibetan refugees are rehabilitated, thereby the Refugees will be rehabilitated in Auroville.

Dr.Kirit Joshi Chairman of Governing Board with an Auroville delegation met Dr.Murli Manohar Joshi Minister for Hinduvta Development and Dr.Jagmohan Minister for Urban Development and presented the Master Plan ratified by the Governing Board in 18 &19 of December 1999. Earlier Residents Assembly had approved. (Source: Auroville Land Fund News Letter Number 12 April-May 2000). Our Question: Assembly in lexicon may mean different, here it seems Auro-villians consider it a city-state like Roman city-state. The Resident Assembly represents only 1700 people, but leaves 45,000 people living in 14 villages. Giving government land on 99 years lease to the 1700 people dominant group while not elevating the economic status of 45,000 Tamil people by assigning lease of government lands to them in their traditional soil, amounts to be like fostering re-colonialization. The Honourable Members of Parliament while the Auroville Foundation Act was introduced as bill in Parliament had suggested that the Member of Parliament in whose constituency Auroville comes up must be made a member in the Governing Board. Dravida Peravai urges not only The Tindivanam, Puducherry Members of Parliament but the Members of The Legislative Assemblies under whose jurisdiction Auroville comes up also be inducted into the Governing Board. The Local Body Chiefs too must be made members to ensure Indian sovereignty is safeguarded, to smell the foul play if a Vatican type city state seems to be the goal towards which Foundation is drifting driven by vested interests, making government appointed Secretaries mute spectator, while few Financial Officers defying the periodical mandatory transfer policy to ensure clean administration, stick to their chairs and powers, inviting Dravida Peravai to demand a CBI enquiry into the disproportionate assets accumulated by officials continuing there for decades.

Unfortunately like absentee landlords, though they may be men of eminence, few people adore the Governing Board. The Ex-Maharaja of Kashmir, Mr.Hari Singh had left Dr.Karan Singh to shed midnight oil to resolve the Kashmir issue, where thousands of Indian soldiers have shed their blood since Indo-Pakistan war broke out. Instead of devoting whole time and effort to solve Kashmir problem, Dr.Karan Singh is wasting his precious time to adore the Chairman's Chair of Auroville Governing Board. The Indian Constitution has a special clause Article 370 for Kashmir, which protects Kashmiris. In Kashmir no Indian citizen can buy or own land, but the Kashmiri Leader Dr.Karan Singh comes to Tamil soil to preach "Divine Anarchy" advocated by French lady and occultist Mirra Alfasa, and uses his political clout to get government lands leased to Foundation, which will in return pass on to private trusts of foreigners. This is outrageous. If this practice of Tamil lands assigned to foreigners does not stop, we will demand that under Article 370, Tamilnadu too should be brought under.

A global campaign to raise $ 1 million or 5 crores by Mother's birthday on 21 st Febraury 2004. (From 1 st January to November 2003 $ 550.000 has been donated) This is twice the amount Land Fund usually receives in a year. An excellent boost for Land Fund, and the equivalent of about 65 acres of precious land for Auroville. (Source: Land Fund News Letter number 31 November- December 2003) Question: If $ 550,000 dollars can buy 65 acres what price is for 1 acre, and whether that price goes to the actual owner? Are they giving proper price to the land, or are 192 units in Auroville paying proper wages to Tamil workers. The Leftists have left out Auroville from their watchful eyes. Nowhere in India are wages given, according to age, the study by Pondicherry University Sociology Department will reveal.

To a question what political organization do you want for Auroville? Mirra Alfasa replies: An amusing definition occurs to me: A divine anarchy. But the world will not understand. Men must be conscious of their psychic being and organize themselves spontaneously, without fixed rules and laws- that is the ideal. (Source: Draft II of a working paper on an international organization for Auroville September 2001).

Mirra Alfasa, as you said world in your time may not understand the DIVINE ANARCHY let loose by you, but in present day even a LKG child will understand that you are against the laws of the land and want to create a lawless society.

A freedom fighter Aurobindo Ghosh who fled from Bengal landed in Pondicherrry as refugee. He came under the influence of Paul Richard, a philosopher whose works he ventured to translate from French. Mahakavi Bharathiar introduced to Aurobindo Ghosh the literature of Tamil Siddhar's especially Thirumoolar who wrote Thirumanthiram. As a blend of these influences with the mastery Aurobindo had over English he could write many books. Because he had been elevated to God status, no one dares to research the origins of his philosophy and the sources of his inspiration. But the learned judges of the Supreme Court had in their verdict admitted him to be only a philosopher and nothing more. Yet his followers propagate the idea that he is an avatar, which is an affront on the decision of the Supreme Court bench. In a bench judgment in the S.P.Mittal versus Union of India (AIR 1983) case Chief Justice V.Chandrachud, Justices P.N.Bhagawathy, V.Balakrishna Erady and R.B.Mishra with the exception of dissenting O.Chinnappa Reddy have made it clear that Aurobindo is only a Poet and Philosopher.

The Encyclopedia Britannica (1978 edition) describes Aurobindo Ghosh as " seer, poet and Indian nationalist who originated the philosophy of cosmic salvation through spiritual evolution, a divine experience that will appear through the development of Gnostic mean to usher in a transcendental spiritual age in which man and the Universe are destined to become divine. Aurobindo's theory of cosmic salvation, the paths to Union with Brahman is two way streets or channels. Enlightenment comes to man from above while the spiritual mind (super-mind) of man strives through yogic illumination to reach upward from below. When these two forces blend in an individual a Gnostic man is created. This yogic illumination transcends both reason and intuition and eventually leads to freeing of the individual from the bonds of individuality and by extension all mankind will eventually achieve mukthi (liberation) Thus Aurobindo created a dialectic mode of salvation not only for the individual but also for all mankind". Says the definition.

Karl Marx and dialectical materialism stands proven in the test of times whereas those who tried to rope the word dialectical for salvation stands proven to be false prophets.

Under the head History of Hinduism, Encyclopedia Britannica says, "Another modern teacher whose doctrines have had some influence outside India was Aurobindo, who began a career as a revolutionary. He with drew from politics, however, and settled in Pondicherry, then a French possession. There he established an ashrama (a retreat) and achieved high reputation as a sage. His followers looked on him as first reincarnate manifestation of super beings whose evolution he prophesized and apparently he did not discourage this belief. After his death, the leadership of the Ashram was taken over by The Mother Madame Mira Richard, a Frenchwoman who had been one of his leading disciples" Well it is the Mira Richard's husband Paul Richard, whose works Aurobindo translated were one of the reasons for his philosophy to blossom. Let impartial researchers dig deep into the writings of both to arrive at a conclusion who influenced whom?

Aurobindo Ghosh, the reincarnation of Lord Krishna according to his followers could not prove his philosophy while he lived. He could use the mastery of the language to mesmerize people but he failed to become a Super human being. He passed away like other mortals. While he passed away rumours were spread that there will be a resurrection, a feeble attempt to equalize with Christian beliefs. That too failed, and he is laid to rest at Ashram. His philosophy also is laid to rest there. Yet even after God-man fails in his claims the spiritual business empires built by their followers are keen to keep alive a falsity and a failed promise.

After the original prophet failed, then French woman Mira Richard became the Mother to lead the Ashram. Did she succeed? She succeeded Aurobindo as Spiritual Master but did she succeed in proving the philosophy? Let us think this aspect here. The collected words of Mira Richard had been published and recorded in audiocassettes. Mother's Agenda as the book calls itself claims that "This tremendous document 6000 pages and in the 13 volumes is the day to day account over twenty two years of Mothers exploration into the body consciousness and of her discovery of a cellular mind capable of restructuring the nature of the body and the laws of the species as drastically as one day the first stammering of a thinking mind transformed the nature of the ape. It is a veritable document of experimental evolution. A revolution in consciousness that alters the laws of the species. And it is the question of our times, for whatever appearances, we are not at the end of a civilization but at the end of an evolutionary cycle. Are we going to find the passage to next species . or perish? As scrupulously as a scientist in his laboratory, Mother goes back to the origins of matters formation to the primordial code, and there by chance stumbles upon the very power that changes death and upon a new energy which curiously parallels the most recent theories on the subatomic nature of matter. The key to matter contains the key to death and the key to next species"

The spiritual lady prophet who found the key to death is dead. Perhaps she had lost that key. And Aurobindo Ashram all these years had been searching for that key, and none found. Mira Richard did not succeed in altering the laws of species. And yet why she should be treated as a successful scientist or spiritualist, and to commemorate her memory, why an International City should come up in Indian soil. Has any other country allowed such projects that erode their sovereignty? We who are used to colonial rule still dream that white men have descended from heaven, even after Spencer Wells proved in his book Genetic Odyssey that all men gave common roots and are equals furthering the cause of social justice movement.

Dravida Peravai urges to amend the Auroville Foundation Act, giving backwards and downtrodden place of equal importance, curtailing the powers of foreigners, economically empowering all Tamil villagers and all refugees in this land to live in harmony in a city that should practice brotherhood instead of carrying dead wood of a failed philosopher's dream.

N.Nandhivarman