FAILED PROPHECY AND FAILED CITY

Dutchman Carel Theime gets angry if I refer Mirra Alfassa as Frenchwoman. Let me quote from Mother's Agenda. "Born in Paris on February 21, 1878, in a very materialistic middle class family. She completed a thorough education of music, painting and higher mathematics. A student of French painter Gustave Moreau, she befriended the great Impressionist artists of the time. She later became acquainted with Max Theon, an enigmatic character with extraordinary occult powers, who for the first time, gave her a coherent explanation of the spontaneous experiences occurring since her childhood, and who taught her occultism during two long visits to his estate in Algeria. In 1914 she visited the French colonial city of Pondicherry in India and met Aurobindo who had sought refuge there from British. She returned permanently to Pondicherry in 1920 via Japan and China, and when Aurobindo "withdrew" to his room in 1926 to devote himself to the supramental yoga, she organized and developed his Ashram, and tried in vain to awaken disciples to a new consciousness. In 1958 after Aurobindo's departure, she in turn withdrew to her room to come to terms with the problem, in the cells. From 1958 to 1973, she slowly uncovered the great passage to the next species and a new mode of life in matter, and narrated her extraordinary exploration to Satprem.This is the Agenda"

I am a Tamil, Indian Tamil, and she is a French, French being her mother tongue. After all she spoke only in her mother tongue to Satprem, who recorded it for 22 years. I wonder why Mr.Carel Theime gets angry when I say her or BBC describes her as Frenchwoman. It becomes evident from Satprem's words that she "uncovered the great passage to the next species and a new mode of life in matter". Mr.Carel Theime is in India to finish her unfinished agenda. Then Indian people expect that the so many trusts Mr.Carel Theime and his friends from overseas have created should have some connectivity to the purpose of tracing the next species and new mode of life. It is not so. A forestation, environment, solar energy, natural farming etc for which these trusts have mushroomed here can be undertaken by Indians. These are global issues and in every country non-governmental organizations are working on these themes. We require Mr.Carel Theime and company here only to find the passage to next species or the new mode of life in matter. Indians know for centuries to build temples, and all goddesses in India, are due to Indians being matriarchal society. Hence to build a Matrimandir, we don't need foreign expertise. We need these foreign species here to find out the passage to next species. If for that purpose they are here, we can welcome. But to teach Indians agricultural farming, which Indians knew for centuries before west knew, if these foreign species create non-governmental organizations here, we don't need them. We say to them Go Back!

In the wrapper of Mother's Agenda, Satprem says: "This tremendous document- 6000 pages- is the day to day account of over 22 years of Mother's 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 species. And it is a question of our times, for whatever the appearances, we are not at the end of civilization but at the end of 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 origin of matter's 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 sub atomic nature of matter. The key to Matter contains the key to death . And the key to next species" so says Satprem.

After Aurobindo, Mirra Alfassa became Guru. Thereafter there is no Guru. If Mr.Manoj Das Gupta is a Guru or real inheritor of his Mother's mantle, he must have inherited the key to death. With that key, while Ashram inmate Kamal Shah raped and attempted to murder Paravathi Shah, his own brother's wife, Mr.Manoj Das Gupta who deputed 8 of his men, who silently delayed taking her to nearest hospital, could have sent that key to death to save Parvathi Shah. After all the God of Death, Yama has not bought modern cars, yet he uses old aging buffalo from the times of Sathyavan and Savithri. He could not have dared to take the life of Parvathi Shah, if the key to death is in the custody of Mr.Manoj Das Gupta. There would be no deaths in Aurobindo Ashram. But what happens is shocking. There has been deaths, which means, whatever the Gurus told as theory, their disciples failed to research further and prove scientifically, what their Masters visualized. Let us go back to hear Mirra Alfasa's own words, on what went wrong. After all as Mother she knew what fault is behind her children's failures.

"You no longer knew where you stand; there is Sri Aurobindo Society, Sri Aurobindo Action, and Sri Aurobindo this and that . The result is dispersion. Yes but when you tell them that especially if you put it that way to Navjatha of Sri Aurobindo Society he will say all right, Sri Aurobindo Action had to go Each one says I am the one who should stay… That is no solution. You have hit the point; lack of unity is the cause of all difficulties. Even the ashram has been contaminated by the disease; each department considers itself a separate entity. And since there is no more cohesion, nothing works. That is the situation. [Mothers Agenda volume 13 page 84]

You would have read our demand for bringing all sub trusts under Auroville Foundation as one entity, one department under the Indian Government controlled Auroville Foundation. The reason why we made such a demand stands proven from the words of the Mother of Aurovillians and Ashramites. The creation of Trust after Trust is a disease which started in Aurobindo Ashram Trust and spread to Auroville Foundation. The motive behind so many trusts is tax evasion. Let us go back to 1975, when Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust passed a historical resolution. "Resolution dated 19.12.1975: It has been decided in the interest of ashram that in order to free from Income Tax on its business incomes that would otherwise be attracted inevitably because of the new Income Tax Amendment Act 1975 and the recent decisions of the Supreme Court of India on Trusts doing business, the Ashram shall stop doing business and its existing businesses shall be taken over by Aurobindo Ashram Harpagon Workshop Trust . By this precedent, Ashram created Trust after Trust with the motive to evade tax. The irony of naming a Workshop as Trust sounds like Mohammed John Iyengar, if any person could imagine of such a name, which proves its hollowness. This precedent is followed in Auroville Foundation. Dravida Peravai had submitted a memorandum to then Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha on 10.10.1998, for which the reply came on 2^nd November 1998.

Tax exemptions to perform scientific research were obtained by ashram. Had any research been undertaken? No we can say. Let them refute. Our humble submission is when that Frenchwoman who claimed to have found the key to death, what happened?

Satprem reports: Before my eyes they drove twenty five screws into her coffin. There was a ray of sun on the nape of her neck, her hands were tightly clasped together, and there was such strength in those hands. Such power in that supposedly dead body. And then that fierce concentration . Already night and silence have fallen over the little actors, their good and evil, their sorrow and petty affairs. Tomorrow this scribe too will return to the flame of love whence he came, and she to the sweetness of Ganges. But what about men? What about history? Still millions and millions of men destined to die? Still sorrow upon sorrow? When there will be undying love? When a lovely earth? Is it once again put off? "A new way of dying ought to be possible" she said in 1963. She spoke so much to me about death. Savitri too went to death to release Sathyavan .

So Death had won. The Key to Death could not save Mirra Alfasa.This is truth. And if at all those who believe in her had faith in what she spoke are wrote, they must have carried forward from where she left. They would have undertaken scientific research to prove her theory or to realize her dream. Neither the business trusts of ashram nor the eyewash trusts of Auroville Foundation are pursuing the goals of their prophets. If Mr.Carel Theime finds our criticism on failed prophets to be harsh, he must vow to do research and find the key to death or guide the humanity to the next evolutionary cycle. We don't question anybody’s faith. Let them believe that key to death could be found. If it is faith, let them have their faith. The followers of Jesus Christ till day even after 2000 years believe resurrection will take place. Like that for 2000 years let these people search the key to death. But till the prophecy stands scientifically proven, rationalists have the liberty and freedom of expression to call the failed prophets a failure.

[I am sorry to say some people are comparing me with Dr.Subramanian Swamy, for raking up these issues. Dr.Swamy is my friend but I differ with him on all aspects.]

N.Nandhivarman General Secretary Dravida Peravai

Japanese Tamil scholar Susumu Ohno passes away

Prof. Susumu Ohno (23.08.1919 - 14.07.2008)

Professor Susumu Ohno, distinguished scholar of Japanese linguistics, known for his phenomenal research of linking the origins of Japanese language with Tamil, passed away on Monday in Tokyo at the age of 89, reported The Japan Times. He was working on the relationship between Tamil and Japanese languages for the last 30 years and even last year came out with a publication, reasserting to his theories. A 1999 book of him on Japanese language sold nearly 2 million copies. Born on 23rd August 1919 and initiated into linguistics in the late 1930s at the Tokyo University, his academic contributions date back to the times of the Second World War. He later became a Professor at the Gakushuin University of Tokyo.Ohno's researches included the study of language found in the earliest poetry of Japan, compiled in the 8th century, and in an epic-novel of 11th century. His monumental publications dealt with the origins, practice and usage of the Japanese language.

In the late 1970s he came out with his first writings on the affinities between Tamil and Japanese. He was not the first to come out with such a study, but he became the central figure in theorizing it.Ohno's Tamil-Japanese studies didn't just stop at linguistics: comparing sounds, words, grammar, and literature, but involved a wider area covering archaeology, folklore etc. It is well known that Chinese and Japanese are fundamentally different languages despite their geographical proximity. Linguists, account to this difference by speculating maritime origins for the Japanese language.

Prof. Ohno, while accepting a Polynesian base for the Japanese language in prehistoric times, put forwarded the theory of the influence of Dravidian languages, especially Tamil shaping Japanese, along with the introduction of agriculture in Japan in the Yayoi period between 500 BCE and 300 CE. He envisaged maritime contacts behind such developments.

To substantiate his theories he conducted research on the comparison of the Yayoi burials of Japan with the Megalithic burials (1300 BCE ' 300 CE) of South India and Sri Lanka. This study in early 1990s revealed amazing similarities in pottery, burial habits and above all in the graffiti marks between the two cultures.

Prof. Susumu Ohno maintained a long connection with Tamil institutions and scholars. He encouraged many Japanese students to learn Tamil.Sri Lankan Tamil scholars, Prof. A. Sanmugadas and Manonmani Sanmugadas worked for a long time with Prof. Ohno and have brought out joint publications while Dr. P. Ragupathy was associated with him in the study of Yayoi burials. Encyclopedia of Languages & Linguistics refers to his Tamil-Japanese studies in the following words:

“His search for the roots of Japanese language started in 1957. He compared Japanese with Korean, Ainu, and Austronesian languages. Unable to establish any kind of genetic kinship between them, he turned to a branch of Dravidian. Encouraged by professors Emeneau and Kothandaraman, Ohno pursued his Japanese-Tamil hypothesis in spite of withering criticism by some Japanese scholars. Commenting on it, Zvelebil (1990) said: ‘The similarities between Japanese and Dravidian cannot be regarded as mere freakish coincidence, and may indeed reflect a very deep genetic kinship…’ Ohno’s studies are trying to prove this kinship.”

courtesy :Kalinga Tamil weekly

DUTCH GENTLEMAN CAREL THEIME LETS THE CAT OUT OF BAG:

Mr.Carel Theime, the Dutch man, who put up strong defence on the side of his institution before BBC, had brought out in Auroville Today[ June-July 2008] a reply to the allegations in the BBC story.BBC was neutral.It gave the otherside chance to be heard. That is what journalism is all about.Dr.Karan Singh when contacted by personal as well as official email or through telephone, by the journalist did not respond, hence in last minute, this Dutchman was assigned the task to defend foreigners before BBC. Let me quote what he wrote about me without my comments to leave it to public to evaluate its content :

Another ambiguous witness is Mr. Nandhivarman, the 'local politician’ from Pondicherry , who is most probably the person who made the ludicrous statement, mentioned in Ms. Wright’s first email, that "because of Auroville, Pondicherry is becoming the brothel of South India ". Mr. Nandhivarman hosts many websites. A posting on one of them, dated April 9, 2008, is called "My fight against Auroville soon in Televisions Options." In it, he refers to Sri Aurobindo as 'a failed godman’ and to The Mother as 'a Frenchwoman who found the key to death but is now dead ' perhaps she had lost that key.’

Auroville doesn’t escape his ire either. "There exists a so-called international city, a dream of the Late Mira Richard, known as Mother of Aurobindo Ashram. That can be said to be the story of deceit. Right from the beginning their aim is to establish a Vatican type of autonomous state." Nandhivarman continues to lambast Auroville for its lack of leadership and aspiration for Divine anarchy, which he sees as an attempt at creating a lawless society which is against the laws of the land. His website shows many similar curious statements, which makes one question his rationality.

But Ms. Wright doesn’t seem to have been subject to such questioning. Many of the statements she makes in the video can be traced back to this particular website. The words ' Vatican status’, which appeared in the transcript (though edited out in the video); the insolent reference to The Mother; the reference to Divine Anarchy ' it’s all there. In another attempt to tarnish the image of Auroville she talks in the video about new people being 'inducted’ to Auroville. In the original transcript, the word used was 'initiation’ ' it was corrected by Auroville into 'probationary period’ but deliberately not used, to create the impression, as one of Auroville’s supporters wrote, that "Viewers who do not know Auroville, upon watching the documentary, may be led to think 'Ah, here again is one of those weird sects, deluded by some ideal or the other, but only living in dissolution and perversion’."

The Honourable Dutch man who finds fault with me describing French woman as French, thundered before the BBC, that there has been ONLY ONE CASE of PEADOPHILE not handed over to police but sent out. He refers to Mr.Didier Kieme, because he was nabbed later. But anyone who heard him shout in anger through BBC telecast can recall his total denial of ANY OTHER CASE. But in his own words, what he writes in Auroville Today, he admits about three cases.Let me quote his own words:

As can be expected, local authorities visited Auroville soon after the broadcast. High-level officers of the police and Immigration Office were concerned, for if Auroville was indeed a place where paedophiles could indulge in criminal behaviour, how was it that they were unaware of it?

The Working Committee informed the Foreign Regional Registration Officer about the cases Auroville had been dealing with in the last 15 years: 3 Aurovilians had been asked to leave on the basis of suspected (but never proven) paedophile involvement; one Newcomer was found guilty and had his probationary status ended and the authorities were informed; one guest was found guilty, sent out, and the local authorities were informed; and the attention of the police had been drawn to two persons who were roaming the area and had been bothering minors. Auroville explained that a large number of guesthouses and home stays have come up around Auroville ' the Repos community on the beach alone is surrounded by 163 (!) small guesthouses ' and that Auroville cannot be held responsible for what happens there.

Why Auroville?

The question 'why’ Ms. Wright decided to relate child abuse to Auroville remains as yet unanswered. Child abuse, according to a report in the daily newspaper The Hindu, of December 26, 2007, is rampant in Chennai. According to a survey conducted in 2007 by the Tulir Centre for the Prevention and Healing of Child Sexual Abuse, more than 40 per cent of the children in Chennai from all social strata report various forms of sexual abuse. Rumour has it that paedophilia also thrives in the tourist town of Mahabalipuram . Why did she concentrate on Auroville?

"I think she was out for a scoop," says Mauna. "Child abuse is a problem found everywhere in the world, including India . Ms. Wright tried to connect it to Auroville to show we allow it to happen and do not act against it; and in the process to denigrate Auroville’s ideals and good name. She dismisses The Mother as 'a French woman’; she falsely states in the transcript that Auroville strives for Vatican status; she lies that Aurovilians don’t pay tax; she misinforms that Auroville has no money, no rules and no leaders; and she portrays Aurovilians as arrogant Westerners who repress the poor local population and take undue advantage of them which is another falsity ' for only 60% of Auroville’s population are foreigners. And if she would have compared the lives of people who have been associated with Auroville since the beginning with those of people outside our geographical area, she would have found how much Auroville has done for the surrounding villages."

By his own words, Carel Theime lets the cat out of the bag.He admits three incidents while he had boldly told lie before BBC, that apart from only one incident, no other case was there.But now he admits having sent out three. The charge all along is if there is strong suspicion about child abuse, why Auroville Foundation fails to report to the Police. After all as the Dutchman Carel Theime claims before BBC, that the Foundation is headed by a Joint Secretary level I.A.S officer is the Secretary. Why that Secretary is sidelined even in BBC interview. When Chairman Dr.Karan Singh backed out to defend, if that is true, the Secretary must have faced the camera to defend the organization he looks after and is responsible to Indian Parliament. Wherefrom a Dutchman, who is in lowest rank in hierarchy, comes to defend crimes committed by foreigners. Our charge is that Secretary’s wings are clipped. They are made puppets in the hands of the extra-national influences that rule the roost.Mr.Carel Theime, who admits THREE INCIDENTS and who ADMITS that they were sent out with honour, also talks about Chennai, Mahabalipuram and the 163 guest houses in near vicinity of Auroville where peadophilia crimes do occur, over which he has no control.

The first ever media expose by Tamil investigative journal Nakkeeran by its sub editor Mr.Prakash, who stayed in my house for few days, tracking the peadophile \triangle of Chennai, Puducherry and Goa, and subsequent media exposures cannot give exemption to Auroville.Like cross border terrorism, Auroville and Puducherry are just 10 kilometers away, the visitors or guests or anyone who comes to Auroville or one who are residents, can come to Puducherry and commit crimes and go back. Even these 3, actually the number is more, as time passes same Mr.Carel Theime will admit, he needs time to refresh his memory, after being sent out from Auroville stay in Puducherry.

The girls of erstwhile USSR states frequent India, visit Delhi and reach Chennai and Mahabalipuram, apart from Auroville. If a verification is made on the passports of these Russian woman, sorry my communist friends, I have great regard for USSR and October Revolution, but I cannot avoid mentioning their nationality, since I had called Mr.Carel Theime, a Dutch as Dutch which in no way is derogatory, the purpose of their frequent visits could be unearthed. Our fight is against Puducherry, Chennai or Mahabalipuram or Auroville should become another Hongkong or Thailand. There many trusts run by foreigners, which needs a probem. Mr.Carel Theime who talks only about BBC, is silent on the charges made against the functioning of the so-called trusts under Auroville Foundation. Their own reports suggest all is not well within Auroville. Hence we demand all trusts be wound up and brought under Auroville Foundation, as departments. An Indian citizens making such a demand to Indian Government is not illegal, and Mr.Carel Theime must know he lives in India, not a sovereign state ruled by Ex-Maharaja of Kashmir Dr.Karan Singh.

AUROVILLE FOUNDATION :AUROVILLE UNITY FUND

Comments on Office Order dated 31/03/2006

While there are some welcome features in the Order establishing the Fund as part of the Foundation, there are some provisions of the scheme that require clarification and redefinition/modification.

Firstly a unit will be merely an entry in the books of accounts by transferring the liabilities for donations/grants etc to this Account. If the funds are at the disposal of the Foundation, it be managed by the management of the Foundation (The Board, The Fin Commission and the Secretary with his officers or executives.) Their actions are subject to the rules and regulations of the Foundation including the Donor Covenants as applicable. There does not seem to be any justification or necessity to appoint seven executives, with out laying down their responsibilities, powers and conditions of service including the allocation of work. They are individuals AND NOT A BODY CORPORATE NOR ASSOCIATION OF PERSONS.

It has to be emphasized that the moneys and assets hived off to the Unity Fund are assets of the Statutory Body with responsibilities to the Parliament. Even now there are executives working under the Secretary and FACAO as officers of the Foundation exercising similar duties of receiving and disbursing grants and donations, within the boundary conditions of the sanction on the one hand and the Financial Rules of the Foundation, as a Public Body on the other.

A group of persons, not employees of the organization ,can not be entrusted with the management of Funds .There is no place for Trustees,. as Trusts will have to be given a specific mandate and handling of funds can not be one of them .It has to be noted that the office order and the reports of the working committee have not defined the inter se relationship, delegation, and limitations on exercise of authority/, ,reporting relationship etc .There is no indication that there will be any pre audit of releases.

Secondly, the list of funds that would be pooled in the Unity Fund is diverse and is subject to different conditionality. It must be emphasized that the Foundation and its many avatars through Trusts and Units are essentially Public Trusts and are strictly Governed by the Law and Practices that apply to Trusts and the very high and strict standards of probity.As a first step the Foundation must decide what funds and functions will be hived off for the sake of democracy and self-governance. Quite clearly as emphasized in our early submissions a certain degree of de-linking must be undertaken. This is inevitable.

Thirdly, the creation of a unit can not and should not dilute the authority and responsibility or Accountability of the Foundation and the Governing Board in ensuring that there is complete compliance:

a) with the terms and conditions of the Grants and Donations, and

b) Monitoring, reporting and providing utilization certificates (often require independent audit verification)

Fourthly, there should be a total separation of funds that are not grants and donations. Payments by units and trusts under contractual obligations, proceeds from the transfer or sale of assets that belong to the Foundation should not be pooled with grants and donations received for specific purposes; if there are conditions laid down by the Donor(s) about the disposal of the assets created from the grants, the funds so realized should be treated as a conditional grants.

There is a need to lay down rules regarding the use of such INTERNAL ACCRUALS. They will probably become part of the funds that can be given to units to support their operations in accordance with the decisions of the empowered body. . Similarly Revenues from Treasury operations (which need not be physically separate for each type of resource) must accrue to the pool.

In fact the concept of surpluses and contribution to AUF need closer examination. This is vital to autonomy and accountability of the Trusts that are service/research oriented. On the other hand there is a necessity for so-called Commercial units to utilize their entire income to the objects of the Trust or contribute the surplus to another unit with similar objects. There is little scope for discretion in deciding the amounts to be transferred to the Unity Fund. In that event the Fund will finance all legitimate needs for renewal/replacement/investments in the interest of the trust/working capital increases, etc after due assessment. This is a matter that requires consideration by the Board in consultation with the Govt.

For these reasons

The following course of action is suggested.

The Unity Fund may be in parts or subgroups such as:

1) All foreign Contributions for specific purposes including those from International Organizations

2) All foreign contributions of a general nature including donations

3) All grants and donations within India from Govts and Local Bodies (There is no clarity in the position papers )

4) Contribution from commercial units, both obligatory and voluntary. These need to be monitored by the Foundation by entrusting to the Executives the responsibility of reporting periodically the funds available and due for transfer to the pool.

5) All capital receipts which are received initially in Account No.3 until they are allocated.

An agreed set of guidelines for the use of the Funds in the various accounts will be issued by the Foundation after consultation with the Executive Committee / FAMC, subject of course to the conditions of the donations/grants

The use of Funds that are not tied should be governed by a set of regulations and a budget approved by the Executive Committee and the Finance Committee.

In the case of tied funds, a system of monthly or quarterly releases should be adopted, linking the releases to the performance and the rendering of accounts. This can be supplemented by a test check by the Foundation's Internal Auditors. The quarterly or monthly release will be by way of an authorization to the Bank to transfer funds to the designated units. In that event there is no need for issue of cheques.

While in the books of the Auroville Foundation various accounts will be opened on the lines specified above, .the balances will be pooled for treasury operations. The investment of these funds will be on the basis of prior approval by the Budget Committee/Finance Committee or any other empowered group.

In passing, it has to be strongly urged that Foundation should have nothing to do in taking deposits, collecting savings and operating as a Banker. Banks are sufficiently diversified and can perform these services. If however, Residents wish to subscribe to long term debt instruments floated with specific common objectives, a way could be found with in the present mandate.

To sum up:

There is an urgent need for making Rules and Regulations governing the Unity Fund, which is now a fait accompli, before it is too late. Also The Authorities and Officials to be entrusted with the following should be designated and notified as public servants :

· Receiving moneys and depositing them with the Banks

· Preparation of Receipts and advising all concerned

· Scrutiny of proposals from Units to be assisted/beneficiary units and preparation of Budgets on a quarterly basis

· Submission of proposals for releases

· Accounting at the Primary Level

· Ensuring timely submission of Returns to various statutory authorities and the Budget committee constituted by the Foundation

Several functions including sanction of funds and releases are linked to Budget scrutiny Approval and Performance Reviews. It is necessary for the Board to constitute the Empowered Committees for this purpose.

The emphasis should be on Autonomy with Accountability. If some units become liable for tax there cannot be any resistance. After all the State provides many tangible and intangible benefits to Auroville.

The concept paper is an impractical document and fortunately the Office Order avoids many of these such as sanctioning loans at the discretion of the executives. Govt grants received for specific national/social objectives cannot be governed by the sort of arrangements contemplated in the concept paper and are matters purely between the implementing organization/Auroville Foundation and the Govt.

In the matter of Budgets, the basic responsibility of assessing the needs and the resources and the need for Govt/External support has to be taken by the unit and the agency that is supporting and guiding it. There is no role for the FAMC and others

All these point to the need for defining the core functions of Auroville Foundation. Mandatory, developmental, infrastructural and basic services to its residents must be distinguished from private driven enterprises and collective endeavours.

-The Institute of Public Auditors of India

UNITY FUND:REGULATIONS / OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS

Introduction

The origin of the Fund

AUF and its organs

The need for the Unity Fund

Authority for the establishment of the Fund as part of the resources of the AUF

The Officers of the Fund /Authorities - their functions and their obligations, duties and liabilities. They will be deemed public Servants

The Auroville Vision and Principles applicable to all transactions

Obligations under the FCRA Trusts Act/Income Tax Act

AUF Act/Rules and Regulations

The Components

AI Foreign Donations Specific

AII F.C non specific

AIII Misc receipts Foreign Currency

BI Indian Currency donations other than Govt./ Public

Institutions

BII Govt Grants State / center/Others non specific

to any Trust

Grants in Aid for specific projects, purposes will continue to be accounted for as at present

C Other receipts /casual receipts/ box collections

D Funds appropriated from commercial units and surpluses as appropriated /allocated by the empowered committee .Rules should be framed

Specify the use of Funds other than tied grants

PROCEDURE FOR RECEIVING MONEYS

Only persons notified shall be entitled to receive funs to the credit of the UF The following persons are authorized for the specified component.

* * * *

Large amounts as notified shall require the approval of the Secretary. Where the terms and conditions for the use of the Funds are specified by the Donor the Secretary shall convey the acceptance of the Foundation, after such clearances from the Board or Govt as may be necessary .

Fund AI Executive A

Receipt of Funds

The designated person (Appendix) shall prepare a serially numbered Receipt Advice with date containing the following information

1) The name of the donor

2) Purpose as indicated by the donor

3) Earmarked for the Trust or organization utilizing the amount

4) Total receipts for the specified fund so far

6) Banking instructions

7) Official Receipt No. and date

Approval of the designated authority where required

9) Copies of the advice shall be sent to Secretary/FA/FCRA Section//Budget committee/Trust concerned

A monthly abstract of transactions shall be sent to the FA by each executive together with a Bank Statement duly reconciled in respect of each account.

Issue of Receipts

On the basis of the Receipt Advice and after verification of the Bank deposit the FA will issue an official receipt on behalf of the Foundation. The receipt book will be in the custody of the Accounts officer.

Each Account head will have a separate Book with serial numbers pre printed. Different colour borders shall be incorporated for different books as per the classification earlier prescribed.

The cash book will be posted immediately and attested, Thje receipts shall be signed by the designated Officer who will be responsible for the custody of the Books, Receipt advices monthly statements and Copies of Bank Accounts

He will prepare a quarterly report to the Board on the operations of the Unity Fund.

Banking

The Secretary shall notify the Banks and type of Accounts to be maintained for the transactions relating to the Fund. Pending such a notification prior approval will be taken for the opening and operations of the Account

Investment of Funds not immediately required

The Board shall in consultation with the Budget committee lay down guidelines for the investment of funds not immediately required . These will be reviewed quarterly.

Surpluses of Trusts and their Units

One of the most beneficial consequences of the Unity Fund is the pooling of surpluses from Trusts and Units engaged in semi-commercial and promotional work. Though all the Trusts subscribe to the Ideals and Discipline laid down in the Vision, during the course of their operations they do create surpluses ,after meeting the requirements of Renewals and Replacement of Assets subject to wear and tear ,additional working capital consistent with the needs for expanded operations. The objective of the Unity Fund is to pool these resources for the common good.

The Budget committee shall after a thorough review of operations of various surplus generating units ,fix the contributions they will make to the Unity Fund. Each quarter. As these reviews are quarterly there is enough room for correction and change as would respond to changing needs.

Allocation of Funds to different units/trusts from the Unity Fund

Allocation and Release of Funds from the Fund

Given the diversity of sources and the varying objects for which funds are received by the unity Fund, it is necessary to bring its operation under a strict budgetary system the various components and the authority/responsibility for these are described here

Receipts

I Govts

Grants and other subventions included in the Govt budget as advised by the Ministries concerned. The receipts in the nature of reimbursement may be kept out of the unity Fund

II International Organisations

The amounts committed for the programs by these organizations

III Casual receipts on the basis of past experience

Foreign Donations An assessment of fund flows on the basis of discussions with donors

IV Auroville Units

Auroville units may be directed to prepare well before the beginning of the Financial Year i.e Dec of the year for the FY beginning April, an annual operations budget with a statement on the sources and utilization of funds. This should indicate the amount of surplus available to the Fund.A committee constituted by the Secy in consultation with the Working Committee /FAMC will finalise the utilization of funds indicating the contribution to be made to the Unity Fund. on a quarterly basis

Treasury Operations

FACAO will direct the contours of the Treasury operations based on the Fund Flows.

A designated official will be assigned the responsibility for ascertaining rhe best way of utilizing the Funds and prepare an estimate of income from Treasury operations.

To make the operations flexible to accommodate extraordinary transactions the Budget for Receipts will be on the basis of adjustments being made monthly.

Payments

The Demands for allocation/ release of Funds must emanate from the Units undertaking programs that are to be funded from Donations/Grants/International and institutional assistance.

These units/trusts must submit annually by Dec an Expenditure Budget indicating inter alia the programs to be Funded by the Unity Fund ,giving details of the commitments made by the Donors. Their estimates will be supported by a Performance Review of existing programmes and other relevant reports on Utilisation of Grants.

A quarterly Fund Flow statement for the next Accounting Year indicating the quarterly drawings proposed will accompany the Budget.

After Scrutiny of the same the allocation as approved by the FA will become the basis of operations for the next year.

The proposed periodic review of the Fund operation will provide the necessary flexibility in the release of Funds

The Budgets as approved by the prescribed authority will form the basis of withdrawals and payments from the fund except in regard to ad-hoc allocations and releases that may be approved by the empowered committee. This will be particularly relevant to misc. receipts including box collections /Ad-hoc donations.

Payments from the Fund

Based on the recommendations of the Committees appointed to approve the Budgets and the quarterly fund utilization schedules ,the Fund Executives will prepare a quarterly release of Funds instruction to the Bank for debiting the Fund and crediting the Accounts of the concerned Trust and Units. The Units receiving funds will submit receipts in advance of the actual transfer/credit on the basis of the release advices.

Monthly Accounts of receipts and Payments together with a comparison with the Budget provisions shall be prepared and submitted to the Finance Committee by the FA/CAO.

The Fund will maintain a calendar of returns for receipt of reports from the assisted units and the submission of Reports by the Fund including monthly /quarterly Accounts/Bank statements etc. The calendar will list the activities and the due and actual date of compliance. The Secy will review this once a month.

The attached document lists the general rules and procedure that should govern the receipts and Payments and the maintenance of Accounts thereof.
PROCEDURE FOR ACCOUNTING RECEIPTS

¨ No money shall be accepted without issue of a receipt there for.

¨ Receipts shall be in pre-printed and serially numbered standard form with provision for details like date of receipt, Party’s name, Cheque / DD number, date, bankers name, amount in figures and words and the Head of Account to be credited.

¨ Revenue Stamp of Re.1 denomination shall be affixed and defaced with Foundation / Fund seal for all receipts of money in excess of Rs.5000/-

¨ Receipts shall be made out by the Cashier and signed only by the authorised officer.

¨ Counterfoil (in carbon impression) of the receipt should be maintained and the same shall be the source of reference for making entries in the Cash Book / Bank Book, as the case may be. (Separate receipt books shall be used for Cash and Cheques / DDs).

¨ If in the computerised environment, as receipt print outs are generated in computer, a separate field should be provided in the Cash / Bank Book to give cross reference to the receipt numbers to ensure continuity and accounting of all receipts.

¨ Wherever a receipt is cancelled due to any error or otherwise, the original shall be attached to the duplicate duly crossed and marked CANCELLED with due authorisation by a superior officer after verifying the facts.

¨ No duplicate receipt shall be issued under normal circumstances and in case it is absolutely necessary, only a certificate of receipt should be issued with the authorisation of a superior officer.

¨ In case of receipt of large amounts, the Head of the Department should be informed for immediate deployment of funds.

¨ All high value cheques / DDs received should be deposited into the bank account on the same day if received within the banking hours and in any case on the next working day along with other receipts.

¨ The counterfoils of the pay-in-slips acknowledged by the bank should be kept in chronological order, neatly stitched.

¨ All receipts should invariably be accounted on the same day.

¨ Un-remitted cash, cheques and DDs should be under safe custody.

¨ Receipt of money against Book Debts / invoices should be reported to the Executive officer / Secretary/Financial Adviser for information.

¨ Receipts being a money value document, there should be a Stock Register to account the receipt and issue of the printed Receipt Books.

¨ Credits by Banks: In the case of banks affording any credit to the account on account of interest, etc., such amounts should be accounted for through receipt vouchers and the bank credit advices should be attached to such vouchers.

PROCEDURE FOR ACCOUNTING PAYMENTS

The following are the normal payments:

¨ Salary and allowances to staff (Cash / Cheque)

¨ Advances to staff towards, travel expenses, administrative expenses, etc.

¨ Personal claims like Travel expenses, Medical Bills, Leave Travel Allowances, etc.

¨ Advances to Suppliers and Contractors

¨ Suppliers bills

¨ Contractors & sub contractors' bills

¨ Refund of EMD and such other security deposits for works done.

¨ Repayment of loans and payment of interest on loans

¨ Fund transfer to other branches / Foundation

¨ Revenue expenses towards rent, electricity, telephones, postage etc.

¨ Remittance of staff recovery and statutory deductions from bills.

Procedure for Payments:

¨ No payments should be made except under Payment Release Advice(PRA or Sanction) duly authorised by officers as per delegation of power issued from time to time. In the case of small cash payments the PRAs need not be insisted, but necessary authorization for payments obtained on the payment vouchers

¨ The banks should be intimated about the list of officers & others with specimen signatures authorized to sign cheques.

¨ All payments should be made under cover of a payment voucher providing full particulars of date, name of the payee, nature of payment, amount, cheque no., date, name of the bank, head of account to be debited, deductions, if any, made, budget provision and the cumulative payments made so far against budget provision, etc.

¨ All payments under the PRA / Voucher should be supported by sustainable claims / invoices in original or by contractual obligations.

¨ All payments to suppliers and contractors should only be made by crossed cheques

¨ Every voucher should be passed for payment and signed by the competent authority under the delegation of powers.

¨ The amount payable should be written both in figures and words.

¨ The cheques should be drawn only in favour of parties who are entitled to receive the same.

¨ The name of the payee should be the same in the cheque and in the voucher

¨ All cheques and demand drafts except self cheques for cash withdrawals should be crossed “Account Payee” before handed over to the parties concerned.

¨ Payee's acknowledgements should be insisted up on against all payments except when A/c payee cheques are issued and sent by post or courier

¨ If the cheque signing authority is different from the one passing the payment voucher, cheques should be signed by that person in accordance with the delegation of powers and before signing he should ensure that the payment voucher in question has been duly passed by the competent authority.

¨ Foreign payments may consist of payment for materials, equipments, travel bills, consultation fee, etc. It should be ensured that all required formalities on payment in foreign exchange is complied with before accounting, the rate applicable for currency translation is correctly ascertained. The company's accounting policy in this regard should also be borne in mind.

¨ All blank cheques (cheque books) should be kept in proper custody under lock and key.

¨ All vouchers should be numbered consecutively for the year and should be entered in the cash book in chronological order.

¨ The Head of Accounts and sub-heads should be distinctly shown and verified before data entry.

¨ The person authorised to approve the payment and sign the cheques should put his initial on the counterfoils of the cheque as and when the cheque is signed.

¨ The Payment Vouchers should be securely stitched and preserved till audit and thereafter up to eight years as required statutorily.

¨ All payments (except petty cash payments) are authorised by Payment Release Advice (PRA). The PRAs should be numbered serially and a Register of PRAs should be maintained for control purpose. This should show the serial number of the PRA, party to whom payment is due, amount involved, due date of payment in case of credit transactions, etc. When payment is released in part or full, the particulars thereof including the voucher reference should be noted therein.

¨ Where payments are released in installments, each payment should be recorded on the original PRA and a copy of the PRA up to the stage of immediate previous payment should be attached to the relevant payment voucher to ensure that there is no duplication in payment.

¨ The original PRA should be retained and attached to the subsequent payment voucher until the final payment is made. Particulars of cheques for each payment should be prominently noted on the PRA duly attested by the Financial Advisor pr such other official responsible for payment..

¨ Also the general ledger account balances should be verified on the system before authorising the payment vouchers. No payment to suppliers and contractors, other than advances should be released unless there is a ledger balance to the credit of the party concerned.

¨ All payments should be accounted in the Cash / Bank Book on the same day.

¨ The software system should be developed in such a way that a cheque issue statement is generated for each bank account both to serve as a ready reference as well as for Bank Reconciliation Statement through the system.

Debit Advices:

There will be a number of instances for which the bank will debit the accounts of the customers even without issue of cheque. They are:

¨ Folio Charges

¨ Bank Charges

¨ OSC Charges (outstation cheques)

¨ Cheque Book Charges

¨ Payments against letters of credit

¨ LC charges

¨ Margin money deposits for bank guarantee

¨ Bank guarantee commission

¨ Interest on LC payments,

¨ Bill discounting charges

¨ Interest for delayed realisation of bills discounted etc.

In all such cases the bank’s debit advice slips should be collected and attached to the vouchers after due verification of its correctness before accounting. It may be possible that the Banks may not promptly deliver the debit advices but the debit entries would be found in the Bank Statements at the time of verification of bank statements for Bank Reconciliation. All such debit entries appearing in the BRS should immediately be accounted and in the case of such entries relating to the last month of the financial year, they should be accounted in the same month

Delegation of Financial Responsibilities from theTrustees to the Executives under the Auroville Foundation

1. Preamble

1.1 Unit Trust Agreement: Refers to the Unit Trust Agreement as signed by the Trustees, Executives and FAMC for the functioning of the Unit. All other definitions are as under Unit Trust agreement.

1.2 The Delegation of Financial Responsibilities is an inherent part of the Unit Trust Agreement as referred to in paragraph 6 and 7 of the said agreement. {This is proposed for all current and new Trusts / Units under the Auroville Foundation}

1.3 Responsibilities of Trustees: The legal responsibilities of the Trustees are as per the Indian Trust Act. Samples of some of the legal responsibilities are enclosed in annexure 1. The limitations of the financial powers of the Trustees by Auroville are also enclosed in annexure 1

2. Relationship of Auroville Foundation, FAMC, Trust and Unit

Normally, the Trusts will function under the Auroville Foundation as per the Trust deed. Formation of all new Trusts will have prior approval of FAMC, Working Committee and ABC or bona fide working group. Every Trust has the Auroville Foundation as the settler of the Trust under the Auroville Foundation. In the context of Auroville's internal organisation, the FAMC is the responsible body for the general superintendence of the Trusts. In turn, the Units under the Trust will function under the purview of the Unit Trust Agreement and the Delegation of Financial Responsibilities as given by the Trustees as per Board resolution.

3. Financial and Contractual Limitations

The financial powers will be delegated to the appointed Unit Executives by the Trustees of the Trust under which the Unit functions. The Executives will be given specified financial and contractual powers, to borrow, take advances, sign contracts and agreements. These limits will be specified by the Trustees through a Board resolution, on the formation of the Unit. Copies of the resolution will be passed on to the FAMC. The powers may be modified, annulled or extended as per the decision of the Trustees. However normally these limits will be:

1.a) Advances and Borrowings:

The power of the Executives will be limited to borrowing not more than 50% of the Capital Fund of the Unit. (Debt: Capital Fund 1:2) This limitation on raising debt refers to all cumulative liabilities of the Unit as represented on its balance sheet. Any advance or borrowing above this amount up to 100% of the Capital Fund. (Debt: Capital Fund 1:1) would require prior approval by the Trustees. Any advance or borrowing above the value of the Capital Fund would require prior approval of the FAMC.

b) Contractual Agreements

For signing any contractual agreements with external parties, either for delivery of goods and services or for long-term arrangements of loans etc., which have financial implications of more than 50% of last year's turnover, prior approval from the Trustees and the FAMC is required.

c) Responsibility for Liabilities

Although according to the Indian Trust Act the final responsibility for the liabilities created by the Unit under the Trust rests with the Trustees, by this document, which is an inherent part of the Unit Trust Agreement, this responsibility is hereby delegated to the Executives of the Unit.

Therefore:

2.(i) Winding Up or Closure of Unit

In case a Unit closes or is insolvent, all unsecured loans taken up by the Unit from within or outside Auroville will not fall outside the domain of the Unit. The executive(s) will have the personal responsibility to reimburse such loans.

3.(ii) Priority of creditors in case of default / closure

In case of insolvency or closure of the Unit, the hierarchy of creditors will be as follows

First

1 External (secured) agency like bank, salary, taxes, EPF, ESI supplier etc.

Second

1 Auroville Maintenance Fund

2 Auroville Business Revolving Fund

3 Other Auroville Units / Trusts

4 Aurovilians

5 Executives

4.(iii) Loans from Executives

Loans and Interests from Executives to Units are refundable only from the surplus generated from their respective Unit.

Interest can be paid to Executives for loans / advance to their Unit, provided funds are routed though the Trust. The interest rate has to be in par to the prevailing SBI rates.

5.(iv) Loans from Units to Executives

Units cannot advance personal loans to Executives from their Unit funds.

Short-term advances in the course of normal business for travel and Unit expenditures are allowed.

(v) Loans from Units to other Units (This is where we said that Divya should work on the wording. It should not be an amount but rather a percentage that correlates with the units' turnover.)

Loans up to Rs 1 lakh can be made at the discretion of the Unit Executives.

Loans from Rs 1 to 5 lakh require that all Executives and Trustees are informed.

Loans above Rs 5 lakhs require prior approval of the Trustees.

It is understood that these figures apply to money lent out within the space of a single financial year.

(vi) Loans from Units to Employees

The ceiling on loans to employees should not exceed the gratuity payment due to the employee

4. Contribution

See Attachment 1

6.5. Reporting on Losses

Units making losses before depreciation should present a performance report and future business plan to the Trust. Moreover any Units making losses in excess of 30% of sales in any one financial year should also present a performance report and future business plan to the Trust. The Trustees and Executives will in turn present this report to the ABC or relevant bona fide working group, who will inform the FAMC.

Units making losses should present their performance report and future business plan to the Trustees by latest 30^th June. If the Capital Fund is negative, at least quarterly performance reports and profit and loss accounts should be presented to the Trustees.

ANNEX 1

MANAGEMENT OF TRUSTS

1. Functions of Trustees

The trustees can make specific provisions in the Trust deed, and additional rules to be framed by the trustees should include the following:

1 Holding of a minimum of 3 meetings a year

2 Quorum for the meetings

3 Chairperson of a meeting

4 Adopting a resolution

5 Delegation of functions

6 Fixing accountability etc.

7 Delegation of financial and contractual powers to Unit Executives

The Trustees can give appropriate support to new Units in their Trusts for effective functioning while at the same time providing accounting, contractual, operational support to function better.

Trustees are also overall responsible to see that the objectives of the Trust are met as per the Trust deed. Respecting guidelines of Auroville working groups is mandatory.

2. Limitations on the Financial Powers of Trustees

Advances and Borrowings:

The power of the Trustees will be limited to borrowing not more than 100% of the Capital Fund of the Trust (Debt: Capital Fund 1:1) This limitation on raising debt refers to all cumulative liabilities of the Trust as represented on its balance sheet.

Any advance or borrowing above this amount requires prior approval of the FAMC.

Loans from Trusts to Trustees

Trusts cannot advance personal loans to Trustees from Trust funds.

Loans from Trusts to Trusts

Trustees / Executives can give loans up to X % of the profit of the unit in the previous financial year, to other units or Trusts of Auroville. (This % can be in the range of 5-20%. The Trustee and the FAMC can fix in every UTA a specified %, but not higher than 25% of its profits.)

Attachment 1:

Contribution and Donation Guidelines for Commercial Units

One of the purposes of an Auroville commercial Unit is to generate and contribute funds for the maintenance and development of the community.

As much as we aspire for a method of contribution that would be close to what the Mother had suggested when she stated that "a part of the income" would be given to the community, we still need the following guiding principles to help us move towards that goal. We understand that these guidelines are evolutionary in nature. They will change as we move closer to realizing the Dream.

The purpose for which you Units are offering funds is important in determining whether it is a contribution to Auroville, an outside donation or simply a personal or Unit expense.

Giving for the general welfare of Auroville or supporting an Auroville project for community benefit is a "Contribution".

A Contribution is giving for the general welfare of Auroville or supporting an Auroville project for community benefit.

A "Donation" is money given by the Unit to an outside project that is not directly linked with or officially supported by Auroville.

Financial support in exchange for goods or services (i.e. for personal or Unit benefit) is a "Personal Expense is giving financial support in exchange for goods or services for personal or Unit benefit."

CONTRIBUTIONS TO AUROVILLE

· Contributions to Auroville are for the greater good of the community and not directly linked to the Unit or the Unit holder.

· Contributions to Auroville should correspond to a minimum of 33% of the previous year's profit before contributions and donations.

· The contribution will be determined from the audited balance sheet of the Unit.

· All contributions to Auroville are to be channelled through the Central Fund.

SPECIFIED AND UNSPECIFIED CENTRAL FUND CONTRIBUTIONS

· A minimum of ²/₃ of the 33% contribution is to be given unspecified to the Central Fund.

1. Unspecified Contributions

a. Can include the Rs. 1,500 contributed by the Unit for each Aurovilian working in the Unit.

2. Specified Contributions

a. Are contributions given to activities which the Unit holder wants to support.

b. May be given to Auroville supported activities under Auroville Fund, AV Maintenance Fund, SAIIER, AVAG and in the villages (recognized projects) but must be sent through an Auroville Channel the Central Fund (such as Auroville Fund, AV Maintenance Fund, SAIIER, AVAG).

c. Do NOT include Aurovilian Maintenance, Medical Expenses, and any other Personal / Unit Expenses.

d. In kind donations are to be evaluated by the Economy Group.

OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS

· In some cases, Units may directly contribute to SAIIER, Matrimandir or CSR (without by routing these contributions through the Central Fund) as specified contributions for a project. The Central Fund needs to be informed of these contributions, so that they are noted as specified contributions from the Unit.

PERSONAL OR UNIT EXPENSES

The following are examples of monetary gifts, which are considered as personal or Unit expenses and cannot be included in the 33% contribution:

· Financial support given to activities directly linked to the Unit or Unit holder like a monthly contribution for the use of the Video Library, New Creation Gym, Nandini, etc.

· Payment for use of space, electricity, water and other facilities used by the Unit or executive.

The monthly budget of the Central Fund is defined and revised by the Economy Group where ABC has representatives. The Central Fund will publish monthly unspecified and specified contributions. Each Units contribution will be monitored. In case no agreement can be reached between ABC and the Unit, further action will be recommended to the FAMC.

For the new Units, Units genuinely in difficulty, the amount to be contributed by the Unit will be studied and determined on a case-to-case basis by the ABC. In case no agreement can be reached between ABC and the Unit, further action will be recommended to the FAMC.

General Notes:

· Even though contributions are entered in the books as "expenses", they are in reality an intrinsic part of the profit. If contributions are given in bulk at the end of the financial year (as it is the case for income tax) it is clear that the 33% would be calculated on the profit before contribution. Regardless of whether contributions are given in parts, before or after the end of the year, it is necessary to include them back into the profit at the time of calculation.

· To be free of the tax mentality, units are always welcome to give more than the minimum 33%. If it is the aspiration of an Auroville Unit is to contribute to the well-being and growth of Auroville, then therefore it should definitely contribute generously.

Addendum:

(vii) In this time of transition where we do not have sufficient funds to cover the budgets, maintenances for the children of Aurovilians working in Units should be covered by the Units. These maintenances can be included in the 33% as specified contribution, according to the levels approved by the Economy Group.

The Agreement between the Trusts of the

Auroville Foundation

and the Units under the Trusts

1. Definitions

In this Deed of Agreement:

1.1 Governing Board means the Governing Board of the Auroville Foundation.

1.2 Working Committee means the Working Committee of the Residents Assembly of the Auroville Foundation.

1.3 FAMC means Funds and Assets Management Committee constituted by the Residents Assembly of the Auroville Foundation.

1.4 ABC means the Auroville Board of Commerce of the commercial Units of the Auroville Foundation, constituted by the Working Committee under Sub-Section (4) of Section 20 of the Auroville Foundation Act 1988

1.5 Relevant bona fide working group means any working group created by the Working Committee under Sub-Section (4) of Section 20 of the Auroville Foundation Act 1988 delegated to oversee a non-commercial Trust

1.6 Trust means a Trust created by the Working Committee under Sub-Section (4) of Section 20 of the Auroville Foundation Act 1988 and in accordance with the provisions of the Indian Trust Act of 1882.

1.7 A Trustee is a person so named in the Trust deed or any further document issued in accordance with the provisions of the Trust Deed. There shall always be a minimum of two Trustees for every Trust. The Trustees shall manage the Trust properties for realising the objects of the Trust."

1.8 An Executive is a person appointed through a resolution of the Board of Trustees to actively manage the affairs of a specific activity of the Trust.

1.9 A Unit is an enterprise established for carrying out specific commercial or service or research activities, which may be defined under this Agreement between the Trustees of a Trust and the appointed Executives of the Unit.

2. Rules and Procedures

2.1 Appointment or change of a Unit Executive:

2.1.1 A Unit shall normally have a minimum of two Aurovilian Executives. Exceptions must be submitted to the ABC and FAMC for approval.

2.1.2 Any resident of Auroville whose name is in the Residents Register as provided for in the Auroville Foundation Act 1988 shall be eligible to be appointed as an Executive of the Unit by the Trustees when recommended by the ABC and approved by the FAMC. In exceptional cases, persons whose names are not in the Residents Register may be appointed as a Unit Executive through the same approval process.

The Trustees will appoint or remove executives on the recommendation of the ABC or other relevant bona fide working group and with the approval of the FAMC when vacancies arise in any of the following events:

a) resignation

b) death

c) bankruptcy

d) a person has been convicted of a major criminal offence under the Indian Penal Code.

e) continued absence of the executive for a period exceeding 180 days without prior agreement of the Trustees.

2.1.3 An Executive of a Unit may resign by giving a written notice to the Trustees. The Executive must submit proper accounts before the acceptance of the resignation can be considered. The resignation would be effective once it is accepted by the Trustees, is approved by the ABC or relevant bone fide working group and the FAMC and published in the "News&Notes" for a 14 day period of feedback.

2.1.4 An Executive can be removed when:

The Working Committee, in agreement with the FAMC and the ABC or other bone fide working group is convinced that an Executive needs to be replaced:

2.1.4a on the grounds of gross mismanagement, which includes the case where the annual accounts of the Unit, in the format stipulated by the Foundation and audited by a Chartered Accountant, are repeatedly not presented.

2.1.4b a person becomes mentally or physically incapable of functioning efficiently as certified by two medical practitioners.

2.2 Overall Supervision

Both the Trust and the Unit shall abide by all directives that may be issued in accordance with the Auroville Foundation Act.

3. Establishment of the Unit

Pursuant to the Act and rules stated above, the Auroville Foundation establishes . (hereafter referred to as "the Unit") under . Trust (hereafter referred to as "the Trust") on … (Date).

4. Trustees of the Trust

The current Trustees of the Trust (hereafter referred to as "the Trustees") are:

5. Executives of the Unit

The duly appointed Executives of the Unit (hereafter referred to as "the Executive[s]") are:

6. Powers and Responsibilities

This agreement sets down the respective powers and responsibilities of the Trustees and the Executives.

6.1 Aims and Objectives of the Unit:

6.1.1 To promote the ideals of Auroville.

6.1.2 To carry on the following activities: .

6.2 The Unit shall not undertake any new unrelated activity without the prior agreement of the Trust.

6.3 The Unit as part of the .. Trust shall remain relatable to Auroville Foundation and in all matters relating to Auroville shall act in conformity with the decisions of the Governing Board and the surplus income of the Unit shall be applied only towards the aims and objectives of Auroville.

7. Finance and Accounts

7.1 The Trustees shall by resolution delegate financial powers and set limits to financial powers of the executives, in accordance with guidelines to be formulated by the FAMC and ABC, so as to enable the Unit to function efficiently.

7.2 The Trustees shall review the delegated financial powers if so requested by the executives of the Unit. The Trustees shall give a decision within two months of receipt of such a request.

7.3 The Executives of the Unit will comply with all statutory requirements under Indian law for doing business, including paying relevant taxes and other dues.

7.4 Any purchase/sale/leasing/renting/mortgaging/pledging of immovable assets of the Auroville Foundation by the Unit shall be done only with the prior approval of the FAMC and the Governing Board whenever necessary in accordance with the provisions in the Auroville Foundation Act 1988 and the Auroville Foundation Rules 1997.

7.5 The Executives are authorized to open bank accounts for carrying on the activities of the Unit. Such accounts may be operated by any one or more of the Executives or their signatories as may be authorized by the Trust.

7.6 The Unit may receive donations in cash or in kind.

7.7 The Executives shall be authorized to enter into agreements with others, raise money for business, pledge movable assets, enter into collaboration with other firms and companies for technology or marketing tie up, etc., provided the same are within their financial power

7.8 The Executives shall maintain proper accounts and submit to the Trustees:

7.8.1 A certified copy of the balance sheet of the Unit as of the 31^st March of the same year, by the date as requested by the Auroville Foundation and communicated by the FAMC.

7.8.2 A provisional balance sheet and/or trial balance of the Unit and any other financial reports requested by the Trustees, the ABC or relevant bone fide working group or the FAMC any time.

8. Management of the unit

8.1 The Trustees shall not interfere in the day-to-day management of affairs of the Unit.

8.2 The Executives will be authorized to take all such steps necessary in the best interest of the Unit.

8.3 The Executives with the approval of the Trustees and the ABC or other relevant bona fide working group will take any necessary action to settle all disputes, suits and other proceedings relating to the assets and liabilities of the unit.

9. Arbitration

Any dispute between the Executive(s) and the Trustees shall be referred to the ABC or relevant bona fide working group or a group nominated by the FAMC as mediator. If the mediation fails, the dispute shall be referred to the FAMC for a decision. The decision of the FAMC shall be final and binding on both parties.

10. Closure of the Unit

The assets and liabilities of the Unit shall be turned over to the Trust if:

10.1 The Unit has been dormant for more than one financial year.

10.2 The Executives decide with the agreement of the Trustees, ABC and the approval of the FAMC to close the Unit.

10.3 The Trustees decide, in consultation with the Executives, with approval of the ABC to close the Unit.

10.4 The Working Committee, FAMC and the ABC or relevant bona fide working group together come to the agreement, with or without the recommendation of the Trustees and/or the Executives, to close the Unit, because it becomes obvious that the unit is heading for insolvency.

In case of disputes clause 9 would apply.

11. Validity of this Agreement

11.1 This agreement shall be binding on all present and future Trustees and Executives of the ____________________ Trust and ____________________ (Unit) respectively.

11.2 The Trustees and the Executives may only alter all or any of the provisions of this agreement with the prior approval of the FAMC and the Governing Board.

Signed by the parties this . day of . 20

Trustees: Executives:

Name, Auroville Name, Signature Name, Auroville Name, Signature

.. ..

.. ..

.. ..

For the ABC/Relevant bona fide working group:

Name, Auroville Name, Signature

For the FAMC:

Name, Auroville Name, Signature

[FINALLY DURING THE JUST CONCLUDED VISIT OF DR.KARAN SINGH AS REPORTED IN THE HINDU of 28 th Monday 2008, Dr.KARAN SINGH IS HAPPY THAT THE UPA HAD WON TRUST VOTE. THIS THE LEADER OF OPPOSITION MR.LAL KRISHNA ADVANI MUST TAKE NOTE OF.A POLITICIAL APPOINTEE SPEAKS LIKE POLITICIAN WHILE CLAIMING TO BUILD AN INTERNATIONAL CITY TO HOUSE FOREIGNERS IN INDIAN SOIL.... N.Nandhivarman, General Secretary Dravida Peravai]

TO PREACH LIFE IS DIVINE DEVIL'S GRAB AUTHORITY IN AUROVILLE AND ASHRAM

[Thavathiru.Aurobindo's Thoughts and Aphorisms were written during the early part of his stay in Pondicherry, certainly before May 1915, and very likely just before this date. Never revised or published during his lifetime, were the aphorisms first brought out in 1958 under three headings Jnana [Knowledge] Karma [Works] and Bhakthi [Devotion] Says the publishers note of the book The Mother's Commentaries on Aurobindo's Thoughts and Aphorisms were given over a twelve year period extending from 1958 to 1970.From that book we reproduce few messages, which should be debated]

Thavathiru Aurobindo had made fun of Adisankara, and this lady had added her comments to the original criticism. This news flashed when a learned Brahmin, devotee of Ramana Maharishi was having heated debate with a staunch disciple of Aurobindo Ghosh. To find out what was said I quote from the book above mentioned.

" 307 : Three times God laughed at Shankara, first when he returned to burn the corpse of his mother, again, when he commented on the Isha Upanishad and third time when he stormed about India preaching inaction" .. Aurobindo

Mirra Alfasa: The Lord laughed when this man, who thought himself so wise, complied with conventions, wrote useless words and gave an example of over-activity to preach inaction.

How could followers of Adi-Shankara assimilate such criticism? I was wondering why so long they remained silent, but now slowly it becomes evident to me, that a top level media magnate, who happens to be a Brahmin, masterminded the plot to depute a journalist to me, so that I can for sake of Tamil interests, fight out Auroville and Aurobindo Ashram. Years had passed since Adi shankara was ridiculed, but they waited for an atheist to fight for avenging their humiliation.

Coming to the curse hurled upon me for my atheism by a stooge of Ashram Mr.Aju Mukopadyaya, I thought it necessary to quote from Aurobindo Ghosh.

241: Atheism is necessary protest against the wickedness of the Churches and the narrowness of the creeds. God uses it as a stone to smash these soiled card-houses.

242: How much hatred and stupidity men succeed in packing up decorously and labeling "Religion " Which is better: religion or atheism Aurobindo Ghosh

Mirra Alfasa: So long as religion exists, atheism will be indispensable to counter balance them. Both must disappear to make way for a sincere and disinterested search for Truth and a total consecration to the object of the search .. 21^st December 1970.

By these words of Aurobindo Ghosh, the pseudo-scholars who get recommendations to grab space in leading dailies, where they conspire to ease out other scholars, thanks to the institutional clout , must realize atheism is not without purpose, Mr.Aju Mukopadyaya.

Then we have to turn towards our Hinduvta friends who hate Christians, and who happily endorsed my remarks against all trustees under Auroville Foundation to be Christians.I am against foreigners dominating Tamil people be it Kashmiri or European. I have to recall the words of Mirra Alfasa, here to drive home the point to Hinduvta brigade.

38: Strange! The Germans have disproved the existence of Christ, yet his crucifixion remains still a greater historic fact than the death of Caesar. ?…… Aurobindo Ghosh

To what plane of consciousness did Christ belong?

Mirra Alfasa: In the essays on Gita Aurobindo Ghosh mentions the names of three avatars, and Christ is one of them. An avatar is an emanation of the Supreme Lord who assumes a human body on earth. I heard Aurobindo himself say that Christ was an emanation of the Lords aspect of love. The death of Caesar marked a decisive change in the history of Rome and countries dependent on her. It was therefore an important event in the history of Europe.

But the death of Christ was the starting point of a new stage in the evolution of human civilization. That is why Aurobindo tells us that the death of Christ was of greater historical significance, that is to say, it has had greater historical consequences than the death of Caesar. The story of Christ, as it had been told, is the concrete and dramatic enactment of the divine sacrifice: Supreme Lord, who is All Light, All Knowledge, All Power, All beauty, All Love, All Bliss, accepting to assume human ignorance and suffering in matter, in order to help men to emerge from the falsehood in which they live and because of which they die.

BJP, VHP, RSS and Mr.Murli Manohar Joshi who thought Auroville as symbol of Hinduvta and had backed the Master Plan to create a Neo Colony, must now realize why Christians flock in Auroville.

Dr.Karan Singh in his visit had green signaled the international city in which majority will be Christians, so that it can become another Vatican. Christians in India had done yeomen service in educating our people, and we respect all of them. But the man who cannot go to Kashmir uses his clout to thrust an international city, which I oppose because it erodes India's sovereignty and Tamils are made second class citizens in their own soil. After reading the above said article Murli Manohar Joshi's will regret that they were misled by Dr.Kireet Joshi. A devotee of Ramana Maharishi made one remark on ashram, which speaks for itself? He chided his friend to quit ashram since only sudhras rule there and no Brahmin could become Trustee? This may be spoken out of caste affiliation or interest but what baffles me is how Brahmins lost the race, they head Indian Rationalists Association, one party of Dravidian movement, and had infiltrated even in BSP. Aurobindo's master piece is Life Divine, how come Devils rule Aurobindo Ashram and Auroville?

GOD FATHERS OF GENOCIDE

KARADZIC IN EUROPE:RAJAPAKSHE IN ASIA

By ALEKSANDAR HEMON in New York Times

Published: July 27, 2008 Chicago

Oct. 14, 1991, Radovan Karadzic spoke at a session of the Bosnian-Herzegovina Parliament, which had been debating a referendum on independence from the rump Yugoslavia. Mr. Karadzic was there to warn the Parliament members against following the Slovenes and Croats, who had broken away earlier that year, down "the highway of hell and suffering."

He thundered, "Do not think you will not lead Bosnia and Herzegovina into hell and the Muslim people into possible annihilation, as the Muslim people cannot defend themselves in case of war here." Throughout his tirade, he clutched the lectern edges, as though about to hurl it at his audience, but then let go of it to stab the air with his forefinger at the word "annihilation." The Bosnian president, Alija Izetbegovic, a Muslim, was visibly distressed.

It was a spectacular, if blood-curdling, performance. Mr. Karadzic, who was arrested last week after 13 years in hiding, was then president of the hard-line nationalist Serbian Democratic Party, which already controlled the parts of Bosnia that had a Serbian majority, but he was not a member of the Parliament, nor did he hold any elective office. His very presence rendered the Parliament weak and unimportant; backed by the Serb-dominated Yugoslav People's Army; he spoke from the position of unimpeachable power over the life and death of the people the Parliament represented.

Watching the news broadcast covering the session, neither my parents nor I could initially comprehend what he meant by "annihilation." For a moment or two we groped for a milder, less terrifying interpretation ? perhaps he meant "historical irrelevance"? For what he was saying was well outside the scope of our middling imagination, well beyond the habits of normalcy we desperately clung to as war loomed over our irrelevant lives.

Then I understood that he was wagging the stick of genocide at the Bosnian Muslims, while the unappetizing carrot was their bare survival. "Don't make me do it," he was essentially saying. "I will be at home in the hell I create for you."

The Parliament eventually decided a referendum was the way to go. It took place in February 1992; the Serbs boycotted it while the majority of Bosnians voted for independence. In March, there were barricades on the streets of Sarajevo and shooting in the mountains surrounding it. In April, Mr. Karadzic's snipers aimed at a peaceful antiwar demonstration in front of the Parliament building, and two women were killed. On May 2, Sarajevo was cut off from the world and the longest siege in modern history began. By the end of the summer, nearly every front page in the world had published a picture from a Serbian death camp. And so it would go for far too long.

There is little doubt, of course, that Mr. Karadzic would have happily sped down the hell-and-suffering highway regardless of the outcome of the parliamentary session. The annihilation machine was already reviving, everything had already been put in place for genocide, whose purpose was not only the destruction and displacement of Bosnian Muslims but also the irreversible unification of the Serbs and their ethnically pure lands into a Greater Serbia. I wondered later why he staged that performance before the Parliament, since peace and coexistence were never a possibility for him. Why did he bother?

The point of that performance, I eventually concluded, was the performance itself. Unbeknownst to most of us interested in peaceful coexistence, the war in Bosnia had already started and Mr. Karadzic was already cast in the role he would perform throughout the war, up until his 1996 ouster from the Serbian political leadership and his subsequent new life on the run. His performance was far less for the beleaguered Bosnian Parliament than for the patriotic Serbs watching the broadcast, ready to embark upon an epic project that would require sacrifice, murder and ethnic cleansing. Mr. Karadzic was showing to his people that he was a tough and determined leader, yet neither unwise nor unreasonable. He was indicating that war would not be a rash decision on his part, while he was capable of recognizing the inevitable necessity of genocide. If there was a job to be done, he was going to do it unflinchingly and ruthlessly. He was the leader who was going to lead them through the hell of murder to the land where honor and salvation awaited.

The model for Mr. Karadzic's role as leader was provided by Petar Petrovic Njegos's epic poem "The Mountain Wreath" ("Gorski vijenac"). Published in 1847, it is deeply embedded in the tradition of Serbian epic poetry and is a foundational text of Serbian cultural nationalism. Set at the end of the 17th century, its central character is Vladika Danilo, the bishop and the sovereign of Montenegro, the only Serbian territory unconquered at the time by the powerful and all-encroaching Ottoman Empire. Vladika Danilo has a problem: some Montenegrin Serbs have converted to Islam. For him, they are the fifth column of the Turks, a people who could never be trusted, a permanent threat to the freedom and sovereignty of the Serbs.

He summons a council to help him determine the solution. He listens to the advice of his bloodthirsty warriors: "Without suffering no song is sung," one of them says. "Without suffering no saber is forged." He listens to a delegation of Muslims pleading for peace and coexistence, who are instead offered the chance to save their heads by converting back to "the faith of their forefathers." He speaks of freedom and the difficult decisions it requires: "The wolf is entitled to a sheep/much like a tyrant to a feeble man. /But to stomp the neck of tyranny/to lead it to the righteous knowledge/ that is man's most sacred duty."

In the lines familiar to nearly every Serbian child and adult, Vladika Danilo recognizes that the total, ruthless extermination of the Muslims is the only way: "Let there be endless struggle," he says. "Let there be what cannot be." He will lead his people through the hell of murder and onward to honor and salvation: "On the grave flowers will grow/ for a distant future generation."

Mr. Karadzic was intimately familiar with Serbian epic poetry. A skillful player of the gusle, a single-string fiddle traditionally accompanying the oral performance of epic poems, he clearly understood his role in the light cast by Vladika Danilo. He recognized himself in the martyrdom of leadership; he believed that he was the one to finish the job that Vladika Danilo started; he saw himself as the hero in an epic poem that would be sung by a distant future generation.

Indeed, while in hiding in Belgrade in recent years, Mr. Karadzic frequented a bar where there were weekly gusle-accompanied performances of Serbian epic poetry, where wartime pictures of him and Gen. Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serbs' military leader, proudly hung on the wall. A Belgrade newspaper claimed that on at least one occasion Mr. Karadzic, undercover as a New Age charlatan, recited an epic poem in which he himself featured as the main hero, performing epic feats of extermination.

The tragic, heartbreaking irony of it all is that Mr. Karadzic played out his historical role in less than 10 years. In the flash of his infernal pan hundreds of thousands died, millions were displaced, untold numbers paid in unspeakable pain for his induction into the pantheon of Serbian epic poetry.

Before he became the leader of Bosnian Serbs and after he was forced out by his supporter and fellow nationalist, President Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia, in the wake of the Dayton peace accord, Mr. Karadzic was a prosaic nobody. A mediocre psychiatrist, a minor poet and a petty embezzler before the war, at the time of his arrest he was a grotesque mountebank. It was only during the war, on a blood-soaked stage, that he could fully develop his inhuman potential. His true and only home was the hell he created for others.

Which is why, after the initial exhilaration, many Bosnians find Mr. Karadzic's arrest less satisfying than one would expect. Though he might spend the rest of his life in the comfortable dungeons of the Western European prison system, he will live eternally in the verses of decasyllabic meter written by those for whom the demolition of Bosnia was but material for the grand epic poetry of Serb hood.

Bosnians know he should have been booed and run off the stage at the peak of his performance. He should have been seen for what he really was: a thuggish puppet whose head was bloated with delusions of grandeur. He should have let us live outside his epic fantasies. Justice is good, but a peaceful life would have been much better.

[Aleksandar Hemon is the author, most recently, of "The Lazarus Project," a novel.]

History must teach lessons so that past mistakes are not repeated, yet some fanatics fail to learn from history, and pursue the path of genocide. For those like Mahinda Rajapakshe the same end awaits, to be on run, to live life on exile, to be caught guilty of genocide.

N.Nandhivarman, General Secretary Dravid Peravai

OUR GOAL IS MILES AWAY LET US MARCH

Karaikal, an enclave of the Union Territory of Puducherry is demanding separate Union Territory status for Karaikal. This demand has become louder and louder when the main enclave of Puducherry vociferously seeks statehood. The people of Karaikal had been subject to neglect since independence and the main enclave developed at the cost of other enclaves. If this being the case while we are under the umbrella of a union territory where Union Government had liberally filled our coffers, what would happen if Statehood is conferred for all enclaves under the current Union Territory of Puducherry, is the fear that has gripped the minds of Karaikal Union Territory Struggle Group. The General Secretary of that Group A.S.T.Ansari Babu brought out a fortnightly Karai Union Pradesam, wherein as Honorary Editor in the few issues that appeared, I could educate the people of Karaikal on the other union territories and in what way we had to struggle to get union territory status for Karaikal. It is not easy to achieve the demand without a long drawn struggle and manifold sacrifices. The Union Government headed by Manmohan Singh needed the crucial votes of the Telengana Rastriya Samithi to win the trust vote. Yet the Union Government did not yield to the separate State demand. This must be an eye opener. We have miles to go to press for our demand and to impress upon the political parties of the ruling combine as well as the parties aiming to capture power. It is not easy as some in our group think that by statements, we can get union territory status. I had repeatedly asked our group to compile statistics of the neglect doing in depth study in budgets presented at least in the past decade. Yet we have to become fully equipped to argue our case before the national parties.

The difference between the States and the union territories particularly the 28 states and the 7 union territories had to be compared with experiences in other parts of the world. Longer periods of constitutional changes only shape a country, creates its constituents, determines its powers. Let us have a look at Canadian experience.

Canada has a constitution - the Constitution Act of 1982. The constitution talks about all sorts of things, like what official languages are and what individual rights are. The constitution works together with system of laws to make up the rules of the country. The constitution also indicates what provinces is a part of Canada and what the powers of those provinces are. For example, provinces have jurisdiction over education and the environment. Territories on the other hand are created by Federal Law. That means the territories have a bit less power than the provinces. They still have representation in the federal government, but don’t have provincial governments. The biggest difference is that the provinces get to vote on changes to the constitution but the territories do not.

Up until 1982, Canada didn’t have a Constitution. It had the British North America Act. This Act functioned the same way as the Constitution does, but reflected continuing close ties to Great Britain. Up until 1982, most changes to the British North America Act had to be passed by the parliament of Great Britain. In 1982, under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, the Constitution Act was passed. This act did two main things: it added a Charter of Rights and Freedoms and it made the process of changing the constitution something that Canadians could do on their own.

Constitution Act, 1867 (Formerly known as the British North America Act, 1867) After the war with the colonists in the United States, Queen Victoria decided it would be in the best interests of everyone involved to consent to the formation of a parliament within Canada. This parliament made decisions and laws for Canada. Like Great Britain, it had a House of Commons and a Senate. However, the Crown’s (the Queen’s) representative, called the Governor General, had the ‘Power of Disallowance’. This allowed him to revoke any federal law within two years after it was enacted. He could also withhold assent from a bill for a period of two years ultimately preventing it from becoming a law. The provinces of United Upper Canada (Ontario), Lower Canada (Quebec), Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were recognized as forming the Dominion of Canada. The Crown’s representatives for these provinces were called the Lieutenant Governor (one per province). They could also withhold assent from bills and revoke laws but had a one year time limit.

Parliament of Canada Act, 1875 gave parliament the power to regulate its members. Adjacent Territories Order admitted all remaining territories of British North America surrounding Canada (except Newfoundland) into Canada. Although they were now part of Canada, they didn’t automatically become provinces at this point. Constitution Act, 1886 (Formerly British North America Act, 1886) Allowed parliamentary representation for citizens residing in the Territories. Canada (Ontario Boundary) Act, 1889 Extended the boundaries of the Province of Ontario. Statute Law Revision Act, 1893 repealed certain obsolete laws Canadian Speaker (Appointment of Deputy) Act, 1895, Session 2 (Repealed by the Constitution Act, 1982) confirmed the rules around the Deputy Speaker of the Senate. Yukon Territory Act, 1898 Separated the Yukon Territory from the Northwest Territory Alberta Act, 1905 (Formerly The Alberta Act, 1905) Created the province of Alberta Saskatchewan Act, 1905 (Formerly The Saskatchewan Act, 1905) Created the province of Saskatchewan Constitution Act, 1907 (Formerly British North America Act, 1907) Changed the way money was transferred between the federal and provincial governments. Constitution Act, 1915 (Formerly British North America Act, 1915) Changed the number of seats in the Senate from 72 to 96. British North America Act, 1916 (Repealed by Statute Law Revision Act, 1927) Extended the term of Parliament during World War I Statute Law Revision Act, 1927 repealed the previous act (since the war had ended)

Constitution Act, 1930 Transferred all rights and interests of certain natural resources of the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Statute of Westminster, 1931 Removed legislative authority of Parliament in Great Britain over its Dominions (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Newfoundland) yes, at the time, Newfoundland was a separate Dominion from Canada at this point Constitution Act, 1940 (Formerly British North America Act, 1940) Gave the Federal Government the power to legislate laws repealing unemployment insurance. British North America Act, 1943 (Repealed by the Constitution Act, 1982) Delayed the re-adjustment of the seats in the House of Commons until World War II was over. British North America Act, 1946 (Repealed by the Constitution Act, 1982) Increased the number of members in the House of Commons to 255. Letters Patent Constituting the Office of Governor General of Canada Clarified the role of the Governor General. (The Crown’s representative in Canada) Newfoundland Act (Formerly British North America Act, 1949) Created the Province of Newfoundland. British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949 (Repealed by the Constitution Act, 1982) Gave the Parliament of Canada limited powers to amend the constitution of Canada. Statute Law Revision Act, 1950 repealed some out of date laws

British North America Act, 1951 (Partially repealed by the Constitution Act, 1964, Repealed by the Constitution Act, 1982) Gave the Federal government the power to enact laws regarding old age pensions. British North America Act, 1952 (Repealed by the Constitution Act, 1982) Increased the number of members in the House of Commons to 263. Constitution Act, 1960 (Formerly British North America Act, 1960) Changed the Length of term of office for superior court judges to 75 years of age instead of for-life.

Constitution Act, 1964 (Formerly British North America Act, 1964) Gave Parliament the power to legislate laws regarding old age pensions. Constitution Act, 1965 (Formerly British North America Act, 1965) Changed the length of term of office for Senators to 75 years of age instead of for-life. Constitution Act, 1974 (Formerly British North America Act, 1974) Changed the rules for calculating the number of MPs to sit in the next Parliament. Constitution Act (No. 1), 1975 (Formerly British North America Act (No. 1), 1975) gave the Yukon and Northwest Territories representation in the House of Commons. Constitution Act (No. 2), 1975 (Formerly British North America Act (No. 2), 1975) changed the number of Senators from 110 to 112. Gave the Yukon and Northwest Territories each one seat on the Senate. Miscellaneous Statue Law Revision Act, 1977 A law which made some technical corrections and name changes to previous acts. Canada Act, 1982 Last act requiring the sign off of the Parliament of Great Britain From that time on, the British Parliament relinquished the power to affect any Canadian laws, including the Constitution. Constitution Act, 1982 (Part of the Canada Act, 1982) Includes the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Includes the “Notwithstanding clause”. This allows the governments to suspend parts of the Charter of Rights for a period of 5 years (at which time it must review the suspension). In December 1988, Quebec invoked the notwithstanding clause related to Bill 178 (its language law). Bill 178 required signage outside stores to be French only even thought that violated Canada’s Charter of Rights. (You could not have an English sign in Quebec). In 1993, a report that Bill 178 violated the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was released by a United Nations human-rights committee. Since then Quebec has allowed French/English signs as long as the French is predominant. The Act was signed by 9 of the 10 provinces. The Quebec government has never signed it. Despite this, the Act is legally binding in Canada.

Why didn’t Quebec sign? There is a strong, ’separatist’ movement in Quebec, including a strong provincial party that usually makes up the majority of the government members. At the time, this party was in power and did not wish to sign the constitution of Canada (because they don’t want to be part of Canada). Why do they want to separate? This movement wishes to be their own country, apart from Canada. The main issue is language and culture. They are concerned their French speaking culture is being overshadowed by the majority English speaking culture of Canada. In 1995, there was even a ‘referendum’ (vote of all the people) in Quebec about whether the people wished to separate. The vote to stay part of Canada won by a very small majority (50.56%). No one knows what would have happened if the majority had wanted to separate — the vote simply reflected the wishes of the people and was not legally binding. However, in a

Democratic country like Canada, the wishes of the people have great influence.

Proclamation, bringing into force the Constitution Act, 1982 (Can.) The Document that the Queen signed at Parliament Hill making the Constitution Act, 1982, law. Constitution Amendment Proclamation, 1983 recognition of rights obtained under aboriginal land claims agreements. Committed all governments to invite aboriginal and territorial government representatives to conferences on issues related to them. Constitution Act, 1985 (Representation) changed the formula for figuring out the House of Commons seats

Constitution Amendment, 1987 (Newfoundland Act) included rights and privileges of more denominational schools in Newfoundland. Constitution Amendment Proclamation, 1993 (New Brunswick Act) Amended the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to include the equality of the French and English communities in New Brunswick. Constitution Amendment Proclamation, 1993 (Prince Edward Island) Amends the Prince Edward Island Terms of Union to recognize that the province can levy tolls for the use of a, “fixed crossing joining the Island to the mainland.”(Specifically, the Confederation Bridge.) Constitution Amendment Proclamation, 1997 (Newfoundland Act) Allows the

Government of Newfoundland to take control of establishing and continuing denominational and nondenominational schools. Constitution Amendment, 1997 (Quebec) Gave Quebec the sole power to determine the system of education used there — this allowed them to reorganize the school boards for separate French and English schools.

Constitution Act, 1998 (Newfoundland Act) There is no mention of denominational schools, so a single school system can be established. Courses in religion are guaranteed, including religious observances at the request of parents. Constitution Act, 1999 (Nunavut) Allow Nunavut to be represented by one Senator and one Member of Parliament. Constitution Amendment, 2001 (Newfoundland and Labrador) Changed the name of the Province of Newfoundland to the “Province of Newfoundland and Labrador“.

Reproducing Canadian constitutional path instead of narrating the amalgamation of princely states into Indian Union and the linguistic division of states and union territories, is just to remind our colleagues who chat in street corners, as if by just a Delhi trip and presentation of memorandums, our goal of union territory could be realized. A powerful people's movement must be built. Truth is bitter but let us struggle hard with sacrifices to march towards our goal.

N.Nandhivarman, Honorary President, Karaikal Union Territory Struggle Group.

DID 8 PEOPLE DRIVE AUROBINDO ASHRAM SHOBARANI DAS TO COMMIT SUICIDE: CASE BEFORE HIGH COURT SEEKING TRANSFER TO OTHER STATE COURT

In the famous Kanchi Kamakoti Madathipathi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal case and J.Jayalalitha cases justice was sought in Courts outside their respective state of residence. Similarly in the suicide case of Shobaranidas [55] an inmate of Aurobindo Ashram, the two suicide notes on left by her side and posted to her son in Orissa, names 8 persons harassing her to commit suicide. This case is pending before the High Court of Madras. Journalists who had reported on daily basis the cases of the two famous persons mentioned above have failed miserably to report what happens in Court rooms, whenever this case comes up. Public who hail the Right to Information Act expect the media to inform them, whoever may be at fault.

FINAL HEARING CASES

MADRAS HIGH COURT CASE STATUS INFORMATION SYSTEM

Case Status:  Pending

Status of CRIMINAL ORIGINAL PETITION   24421 of   2006    

DEVBRATDAS Vs THE STATION HOUSE OFFICER

Petitioners Advocate: M/S.K.BIJAI SUNDAR                   

Respondent’s Advocate:  PUBLIC PROSECUTOR    

Last Listed On:  No Date Mentioned

Category:  Petition under Section 482 Cr.PC   

Shobharani Das Story

Devbrat Das, the Petitioner in the Crl. O. P.  No. 24421 of 2006 before the Madras High Court is the son of Hare Krishna Das, and the deceased Shobharani Das .His mother late Shobharani Das the deceased in the above case joined Sri Aurobindo Ashram at Pondicherry in the year 1982 and she was accepted as a permanent ashramite from the year 1992. His elder sister Swarnalata, aged 40 years also is an inmate of Sri Aurobindo Ashram since 1983.His father Harekrishna Das, has been offering voluntary services in Sri Aurobindo Ashram since 1996 and is residing in a place provided by the Ashram. Shobharani Das (55) an inmate of Sri Aurobindo Ashram at Pondicherry was found hanging under mysterious circumstances, in her room no. 43, A.B. House, at No. 33, Dr. Ambedkar Street Kuruchikuppam, Pondicherry-605 001 on 25/02/2004 leaving a suicide note in Oriya language stating that the 8 persons were the cause for her committing suicide.

Devbrat Das came from Orissa to Pondicherry for the cremation of his mother. The police had seized the suicide note of his mother and a similar note addressed to him by post, sent by his mother to Orissa.  Initially the case was registered u/s 174 of Cr.P.C. and after the seizure of the suicide notes and recording of statements the case was altered in to Sec. 306 r/w 34 of IPC.

In his petition seeking transfer of this case to any state outside of Puducherry Devbrat Das alleges that he will  not get any justice before the Courts at Pondicherry. He is permanent resident at Rourkela at Orissa, and alleges that the Pondicherry Trial Court is very hasty to conduct the trial knowing fully well that important witnesses' mother tongue being Oriya, they do not know Tamil, English or Hindi and without taking any efforts to appoint a translator the Court has fixed dates for trial, which attitude, he construe and reasonably apprehend that he will not get justice for the death of his mother from Pondicherry Courts. He suspects that he would not get fair and impartial trial for the death of his mother and there is every likelihood of the accused persons escaping from the clutches of law if the trial is allowed to take place at Pondicherry. Hence, he claims it is just and necessary to transfer the case in S.C. No. 30 of 2006 on the file of Assistant Sessions Court at Pondicherry to any other Court in Tamilnadu and pass such other or further Orders as High Court of Madras deems fit and proper in the interests of justice.

Let us await the High Court order and the media of Chennai to be free from Ashram phobia to report what happens in Court when the case is taken up.

N.Nandhivarman, General Secretary, Dravida Peravai

TAMIL UPSURGE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

Around 30,000 people attended the Pongku Thamizh (Tamil Upsurge) rally in London at the Northampton Vale sports ground on Saturday, choking traffic in one of the highways, said the organizers. A number of British parliamentarians cutting across party lines, international representatives of liberation movements, rights activists, and politicians from Tamil and Sinhala communities addressed the event, and sent messages in support of the event. Even by conservative estimates, nearly 150,000 Tamils of North America, Europe, Africa and Australia have so far demonstrated their support to the cause of Eezham during the last one-month through Pongku Thamizh 2008.
The overwhelming response of Diaspora Eezham Tamils to the call of Pongku Thamizh was not only impelled by the stepped up sufferings in Sri Lanka, but also was due to suppressed anger over the attitude of the International Community, opined an independent observer reading the mood of the people who attended the London rally.

Dr Bajram Rexhepi, the former Prime Minister of Kosovo and current Mayor of Mitrovica, spoke of the similar history between the Tamils and the Kosovans. He mentioned that though they had international support, the intransigence of the Milosevic government meant that Kosovo remained oppressed until they fought for their freedom. Mentioning that the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) was identified as a terrorist organization by a number of countries, he said his country was finally freed in 1999, but even then they had to prove that they would not abuse their people's human rights, which they finally succeeded in doing in February this year. "It was not easy," said the first elected and internationally recognized post-war Prime Minister of Kosovo, adding that "we will show solidarity and support for your struggle." Professor Thiyagaraj Dasaratha Chetty, Pro Vice Chancellor of the University of Qwazulu Natal and a member of the African National Congress restated his government's position that there can be no solution without the involvement of the two principle parties and that no solution can be imposed from outside. The Liberation Tigers are engaged in an armed struggle as a response to structural failures and though two states may be the answer, that too has problems that need to be addressed, he said. The South African government is willing to help with all efforts that lead to reconciliation and peace, he said. Liam MacUaid, editor of Socialist Resistance and a member of Respect spoke of his family's experience of being forced to leave their home (in Belfast) at the end of the guns of an occupying army. He expressed the solidarity of the workers with all oppressed people, such as the Tamils.

A message of support from Dr. Vickramabahu Karunaratne of the Nava Sama Samaga Party (NSSP) was read out by local party member Sashie Peiris, in which he expressed his regret at being unable to attend, and his support for the Tamil cause.

Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrats Foreign Affairs spokesman expressed the need to 'get the message' to the Sri Lankan government that they need to get back to the peace negotiating table. He also called for an end to the human rights abuses in Sri Lanka.

Andrew Pelling MP (Conservatives) said the problem in Sri Lankan can only be resolved by negotiation and called on the parties to come back to the table.

Welcoming the efforts by Britain that resulted in Sri Lankan being removed from the UN Human Rights Council, Virendra Sharma MP (Labour) stressed that there was no quick fix. “Sri Lanka is not just a failed state”, said the Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils. “There is more.” Mr Sharma said he understood that the crowd felt Tamil Eelam was the only solution and promised to work with the British government to force the Sri Lankan government to take steps towards solving the conflict.

Mike Griffiths, the General Secretary of the Trade Union UNITE said while he understood the Tamil suffering, there was great ignorance of it among the British populace. Stating that many peoples cry for self-determination, he said Tamil raises are raised too in the same cry at events like the Pongku Thamizh gathering. Pledging to re-double his efforts to restore peace in Sri Lanka, Mr. Griffiths called on all those gathered to do the same. Comparing her experiences as a migrant to Britain, Siobhan McDonough, Labour MP, spoke of understanding Tamil experiences and thanked the Tamils for their contributions in Britain. Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP (Liberal Democrats) called for there to be many more opportunities to hear Tamil voices expressing their opinion. "It is deeply important to anyone concerned with human rights and justice that we get a political solution that recognizes the cultural and linguistic identity," she said. She urged all parties to return to the negotiating table and called for an end to human rights abuses.

Dawn Butler MP (Labour) spoke of seeing the Tamils "walking with purpose for a purpose" to attend the event. Stressing that governments must listen to the sound of so many Tamil voices, she stated her belief that change was possible. "We will make a change together," she pledged. Messages of support were also received from Tony Benn MP (Labour), Robert Evans MEP (Labour), Stephen Hammond MP (Conservatives) , Simon Hughes MP (Liberal Democrats), Susan Kramer MP (Liberal Democrats), Joan Ryan MP (Labour) and Roy Padayachie (South Africa's Deputy Minister of Communications) .

Independent sources said that more than 25,000 people attended the event though the estimation by the Metropolitan Police was between 20,000 and 30,000. A small number of police were present, as were security officials organized by the event organizers to ensure the event was peaceful and crowd control was maintained.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian S. Jeyananthamoorthy said that Tamils have historically ruled themselves, and that this has been denied them since the colonial times. "Tamils are fighting now to reclaim what is ours," he said.S Kajendren, TNA MP for Jaffna, spoke of the war currently being fought on Tamil soil. "The Tamils are not terrorist," he said, expressing the hope that the freedom of the Tamil people would be achieved soon.Thaya Iddaikarar, British Tamil Councilor, compared the Tamil struggle to the sacrifices the British people were prepared to make in their defense of the Falkland Islands. Solicitor Matt Foot expressed his shame at being a British citizen when the government, elected on an ethical foreign policy, banned liberation struggles like the LTTE and the PKK. "Seeing you gives me hope that we can fight," he said.

Other speakers included Suresh Krishna, of the Tamil Councilors Association, former Kingston Mayor Yogan Yogananthan, Merton Mayor Martin Whelton, The event began with the lighting of the common flame of sacrifice by the parliamentarian for Batticaloa, S. Jeyananthamoorthy, followed by the traditional moment of silent respect.

The folk dance drama that followed was an interactive event, with full participation. Expression of support for Tamil Eelam were greeted with overwhelming applause from the audience, and chants of "We want" roused the crowd to its feet with responses of "Tamil Eelam".The programme also included traditional Nathaswaram music, the broadcasting of a poem by poet Puthuvai Ratnathurai, and dancing by local youth to Pongku Thamizh songs. David Pararajasingham of the British Tamil Forum delivered the welcome address, before the politicians took to the stage to express their support.

Arriving from across the British capital, with some making the journey from outside London, Tamils gathered to reinforce the global call for "motherland, nation, and self-rule". The traffic congestion attendees blocked the main A3 road leading to the event, with the traffic backed up for over a mile even after the event had begun. As a balloon flew overhead expressing the sentiment that "Tamil Eelam must be free", mini stages set amongst where the Tamils were gathered commemorated the great rulers of the Tamil kingdoms in Jaffna, including Sangkiliyan, Ellalan, Pandara Vanniyan and Princes Kuruvichchi Nachchiyar. As is now common at all Tamil events in London, a food stall provided traditional foods and soft drinks, while children were entertained with face painting, balloons and flags. Shops around the grounds also sold Tamil Eelam t-shirts and umbrellas. The large crowd, waving the red and yellow flag in the Tamil colours, braved the weather to turn out in force, with most staying through to the end despite periodic bouts of rain. The red, black and yellow Tamil Eelam umbrellas were not only colorful, but also useful in the British weather. Photos from other Pongku Thamizh 2008 rallies:

[Pongku Thamizh event in Canada where more than 75000 participated on 05 July, 2008.
Pongku Thamizh event in South Africa on 21 June, 2008.Pongku Thamizh in Sydney, Australia, held on 06 July, 2008.Pongku Thamizh, held in Melbourne, Australia on 05 July.Around 500 Tamils took part in the Pongku Thamizh rally in Milan in Northern Italy, on 15 June, 2008.Around 1000 Tamils took part in the rally in Palermo, Italy, on 29 June, 2008.Denmark observed Pongku Thamizh on 14 June, 2008.Pongku Thamizh 2008 in Germany8000 Tamils marked Pongku Thamizh in Germany on 28 June, 2008.More than 4000 Switzerland Tamils observed the rally on 05 July, 2008.Tamil Upsurge rally in Belgium on 23 June, 2008.Around 3000 Tamils took part in Pongku Thamizh in Oslo, Norway on 14 June, 2008.Pongku Thamizh in Netherlands on 22 June, 2008.

Pongku Thamizh in Sweden, marked on 28 June, 2008.Pongku Thamizh in Finland on 16 June, 2008.More than 7000 Tamils attend Pongku Thamizh in France on 18 June, 2008.Eezham Tamils in Auckland, New Zealand, mark Pongku Thamizh on 14 June, 2008.]

Everything is history.All struggles are materials for archives. This is a dismissed case, after 8 years and 5 lawyers one getting government post and quitting and others on their own or at our request handed back papers, and when no one could be engaged after so much money spent, the case was disposed. But the issues it raised are still alive for historians to research…… N.Nandhivarman

IN THE COURT OF PRINCIPAL DISTRICT JUDGE

AT PONDICHERRY

O.P. NO. 22/97

Between:

1. N. Nandhivarman,

General Secretary, Dravida Peravai,

69, Rangapillai Street,

Pondicherry - 605 001

2. D.K. Ramnujam, Ex. M.L.A.,

17, Pillayar Koil Street,

Thengaithittu,

Pondicherry - 605 004 …. Petitioners

Vs.

1. Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust

represented by its Managing Trustee

Mr. Harikant C. Patel,

Sri Aurobindo Ashram Main Building,

Marine Street,

Pondicherry - 605 002

2. Mr. Manoj Das Gupta,

Trustee,

23, Saint Louis Street,

Pondicherry - 605 002

3. Dr. Dilip Datta,

Trustee,

45, Lally Tollendal Street,

Pondicherry - 605 002

4. Mr. Ved Prakash Johar,

Trustee, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Dining Hall,

8, Rangapillai Street,

Pondicherry - 605 002

5. Mr. Albert A. Patel

Trustee,

15, Calve Subbaraya Chetty Street,

Pondicherry - 605 001 .RESPONDENTS

PETITION UNDER SECTION 3 OF THE CHARITABLE AND RLIGIOUSTRUSTS ACT, 1920 (CENTRAL ACT NO. 14 OF 1920)

1) The first petitioner is the son of Late R. Nagarathinam, Hindu, aged about 49 Years, residing at No.69, Rangapillai Street, Pondicherry - 605 001.

The second Petitioner is the son of Late Krishnaswamy, Hindu, aged about 76 years, residing at 17, Pillayar Koil Street, Thengaithittu, Pondicherry- 605 004.

The address for service of all process and summons of the petitioners is that of their counsel.

P. U. Chemmal, B.A., L.L. M.,

Advocate,

Ignacy Maistry Street,

Pondicherry - 605 001.

2) The first respondent is a charitable trust created by Late Madame Mira Alfasa and managed by respondent 2 to 5 for the time being.

The second respondent is the son of father name not known to the Petitioner, aged 62 years and residing at 23, Saint Louis Street, Pondicherry '605 002.

The third respondent is the son of father name not known to the Petitioner, aged 68 years residing at 45, Lally Thollendal street, Pondicherry-605 002.

The fourth respondent is the son of father name not knownto the Petitioner, aged 69 years, residing at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Dining Hall, 8 Rangapillai street, Pondicherry - 605 002.

The fifth respondent is the son of, father name not known to the Petitioner, aged 73 years, residing at 15, calve subbaraya Chetty street, Pondicherry - 605 001.

The address for service of all purposes and summons of the respondents is as given above.

3) The petitioner submits that the first respondent trust is a charitable trust created for the benefit of the disciples, devotees and inmates of Sri Aurobindo Ashram and of the schools conducted by the said Ashram. The trust was created by a Declaration of Trust made by Late Madame Mira Alfasa who was known as the Divine Mother of Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, by a deed of declaration of trust executed on 1.5.1955 and registered as document No.1823 of 1955 in Book-1. Vol. 402, pages 273 to 287 in the Office of the Sub-Registrar of Vanur. The Trust deed was subsequently registered on 28.3.1964 in the Enrigistrement Bureau in Pondicherry. Thereafter the declaration of trust was further transcribed in Bureau Des Hypotheque, Pondicherry on 25.5.1964 in R.V. 90 as No.22.

4) The petitioners submit that as it could be seen from the said deed of declaration of trust, the trust is possessed of extensive lands and buildings and the sale proceeds and benefits arisen out of the books, periodicals, manuscripts and writings of Sri Aurobindo have also been made over to the trust for the sole benefit and use of the disciples, devotees and inmates of Sri Aurobindo Ashram. It is also manifest on the trust deed that the properties of the trust shall be in use for the residence of the inmates of Sri Aurobindo Ashram and for various other purposes, industries and undertakings connected with the Ashram and for the extensive benefit and use of the disciples, devotees and inmates of the Ashram. The properties are also to be put to use for the spiritual education and enlightenment of mankind generally on the ideal and philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.

5) The petitioner submits that the first petitioner hails form a family of
Sri Aurobindo’s disciples and has immense interest in the study of the teachings of Sri Aurobindo and the Divine Mother. The first petitioner therefore has lot of concern over the proper management and administration of Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust and in ensuring that the properties of the trust and its incomes are not exploited for personal ends. The second petitioner is a freedom fighter and a social activist concerned about the charitable activities of a trust functionary in Pondicherry soil and its proper use for benefiting local populace and all.

6) The petitioner submits that the trustees for the time being of Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust have been vested with the absolute management and entire control of the trust properties for the purposes of the trust deed for execution of the trust. The trustees shall be at liberty at any time to sell or let out any house, land, tenements, hereditaments and premises and any motors, pumps, fixtures or fittings, books and other movable properties subject to the trust with power to buy or resell the same. and all moneys that arise form such transactions shall be deemed to be part of the trust property. The petitioner submits that the trust has also been registered as public charitable trust under section 80 G of the Indian Income Tax Act. 1961.

7) The petitioner submits that while it was so the respondents 2 to 5 who are for the time being the trustees of the first respondent trust have been making misuse of the funds of the trust for their personal ends. Therefore a demand was made from among the inmates for particulars about the management of the trust and its accounts. The respondents 2 to 5 have been functioning in an autocratic manner keeping away all the inmates and have refused to render accounts to them. Consequently there was a move to form an association called Sri Aurobindo Ashram Inmates Association and the respondents 2 to 5 exercising their influence with official machinery took steps to thwart the association from being coming into existence. A few of the promoters of the association have filed a civil suit praying for an injuuction to the Registrar of the societies to register the Association . The said suit is disposed (O.S. No.12/97) on 21.4.97 by the court of III ADM. As a retaliation to the move adopted by a section of the inmates to form an association, the respondents 2 to 5 sought to expel a few identified persons who are inmates of Sri Aurobindo Ashram form the Ashram community, of flimsy grounds. This triggered another round of litigation lodged by the four expelled inmates which were taken on file as original suits No.88/97, 89/97, 90/97, 91/97 on the file of the court of III ADM at Pondicherry. The latter batch of suits has however ended in a compromise under which the expelled members were unconditionally taken back to the fold of the Ashram.

The petitioners respectfully submits that the respondents 2 to 5 have thus converted the whole trusts to own their benefits and do not render any account to anyone. on the other hand there is a vast extent of movable and immovable properties for the trust and a number of industrial undertakings are being owned and conducted by Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust. The trust also received quite on amount of public contribution from the devotees and the disciples of Sri Aurobindo. The respondents do not appear to have rendered proper accounts and any move made by the inmates to look into the management of the first respondent trust by the respondents 2 to 5 only results in victimisation of the worst degree, including physical manhandling.

9) The petitioners submit that in the Trust deed created by The Mother, the intention of the trust, the beneficiaries, the maintenance and utilisation of Trust funds and all other connected and incidental matters have been clearly delineated but the Deed of Trust does not contain any provision for removal of Trustees in case of mismanagement, misconduct and misappropriations. The Deed of Trust, the petitioners submit, does not contain any provision for the continuing trustees to oust any trustee even if one of them have committed misappropriation of trust funds or any other breach of trust . No trustee or majority of the trustees have any power to expel any other Trustee. The Deed of Trust does not mention the period for which appointed trustees should hold office. The petitioners submit that if the trustees are to hold office throughout their life time, then there is danger of mismanagement due to their old age incapacity of performing their duties towards the execution of the trust. The petitioners state that the chances of the management indirectly falling into the hands of undesirable and incompetent persons looms large. The lack of accountability, transparency and democracy coupled with the ambiguous provision of the trust deed has resulted in Sri Aurobindo Ashram “falling from grace”.

10) The petitioners also submit that the Government of Pondicherry under the administration of the then Lt. Governor Cheddilal wrote three times to the trustees of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Sri Aurobindo Society and other units of Sri Aurobindo Ashram soliciting information regarding accounts. The petitioners state that there was a CBI raid on 13th September 1976 on Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Sri Aurobindo Society and other units. These incidents, the petitioners submit is clear cut proof of the reluctance of Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust to comply with the laws of the land. It is to be noted that this defiance or refusal to show accounts at the time of emergency resulting in CBI raids will have to be taken note of by the Honourable Court in evaluating the proper functioning of the trust and petitioners' prayer for accountability.

11)The petitioners submits that the accounts of Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust and its subsidiary business trusts including Sri Aurobindo Udyog Trust are written in a centralised manner. and of late there has been large scale shifting of deposits/accounts from Nationalised Banks of repute like State Bank of India to other banks, for no rhyme or reason, other than creating cloud of suspicion over the pecuniary benefits accrued to the prime movers of this “deposit transfers” .

12) The petitioners submits that the registered office of Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust and its trustees, parties to this suit and witnesses reside within the jurisdiction of this Honourable court. The Trust deed which was originally registered in Vanur, was subsequently registered on 28.3.1964 in the enregistrement Bureau in Pondicherry as well as transcribed in Bureau Des Hypotheque Pondicherry on 21.5.1964 in R.V. 90 as No.22. The Petitioners submit that it is clear as whole of Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust and its properties, trustees, witnesses, office, registered office, commercial establishments etc are situated all within the areas of the jurisdiction of the Honourable Court.

13) The first Petitioner submits that the first petitioner is a native of Pondicherry and comes from a family that was close to Sri Aurobindo and is an ardent admirer of his global vision and philosophy. Both the petitioners understand that the respondents 2 to 5 are converting to their own benefit the properties of the first respondents trust and income of the said trust. There are also indications that respondents 2 to 5 are entering into shady deals involving sale of the properties of the first respondent trust in which lot of money is being passed under hand to be secreted and pocketed by the respondents 2 to 5 to their own persons. It is therefore just and necessary that the respondents are directed to furnish to the petitioner with particulars as to the properties and the income of the first respondents trust and application of those income in the matter of execution of the trust and also a direction be issued that the accounts of the trust shall be examined and audited for a period of three years prior to the date of this petition. Hence this petition.

14) The petitioner pays a court fee of Rs.10/- as per the provision of schedule II under article 10 (2) of the Pondicherry Court Fees and suit Valuation Act, 1972.

15)The petitioner therefore prays that this Honourable Court may be pleased to pass an order and decree:

a) directing the respondents 2 to 5 to furnish to the petitioner with particulars as to the details of immovable, movable properties of Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, the income of the trust form those properties and from contribution made to the trust by the public and devotees and disciples of Sri Aurobindo Ashram and application of those income in the matter of execution of the trust;

b) directing that the accounts of the said trust shall be examined and audited by an independent auditor for a period of three years prior to the filing of this petition;

c) awarding the costs of this petition;

d) granting such further or other order or orders as this Honourable Court may deem fit in the facts and circumstances of the case and thus render justice.

Dated at Pondicherry this the 24th day of June, 1997.

Sd/- Sd/-

COUNSEL FOR PETITIONERS PETITIONERS

VERIFICATION

We, the petitioners herein do hereby declare that what is stated above are true to the best of our knowledge, belief and information.

Dated at Pondicherry this the 24th day of June, 1997.

Sd/- PETITIONERS

List of Docutment filed

Photo copy of the extract of the book. The Life of Sri Aurobindo(1872-1926) page 233 to Prove the first petitioners family is Sri Aurobindo's disciples.

Pondicherry Sd/-

Date : 22.7.97 COUNSEL FOR PETITIONERS

//TRUE COPY//

NO SANCTUARY FOR SITA IN RAMAYANA PLAY

Sita as a rape victim who chose to die by jumping into Ravana's funeral pyre as the agni pariksha [test of fire] - this is the dramatic new interpretation of the Ramayana published in the form of the play, Sanctuary, released in Bangalore on Thursday i.e. 10 th July 2008.Bangalore born Author Hema Ramakrishna, who has been living in Srilanka since a decade, asks "What makes anyone think a man who abducted a woman will keep her in ivory tower and worship her? "

"It is psychologically inadmissible" she told MAIL TODAY. Hema has taken many liberties with the original story. The Lanka in her play becomes Ranka and is located near the Chilka lakes of Orissa. The image of the maryadha purusha [ideal man] Rama is questioned as his treatment of two women, his wife Sita and Ravana's sister Surpanaka, comes under strong feminist scanner.

The trigger for Ravana kidnapping Sita was Rama's brutal rejection of the beautiful Surpanaka and her mutilation. Hema has brother Ravana stating "What ruffians to treat a woman like this?" Sanctuary was first published four years ago in Srilanka by Vijita Yapa Publications, and the same publisher has now released it in Bangalore. The delay was owing to the time Hema took to gather the courage to release the book in India.

"Now I feel the country is civilized enough to accept another view point on the myth. It is we who have made it a religion, The Ramayana is a myth about a man and his people"she contented.

Even the thought of the ruling BJP in Karnataka has not deterred her from releasing the book there. "I have lot of respect for the CM. I think he will see the book for what it is and hold back rabid elements." she said. The play features a deglamourized Sita, who loses her beauty and vitality with the rape. Ravana even has her tongue cut out, because of the abuses she heaps on him during the act. Finally when Rama does see Sita at Asokavana, he is repelled by her. An enraged and despairing Sita jumps into Ravana's funeral pyre and dies at the end of the play, even as Rama moans "My punishment is come upon me now. My dreaded punishment is come ". For Hema, Sita is a representative of all women. "What happened to Sita is an eternal enigma and as long as there are women, we will keep writing about it", she said.

Yapa, a former journalist, who released the book with Hema, said he published the book as he was always interested in alternative view points. "If it causes a storm here, I am willing to face it ", he stated.

Courtesy: By Sowmya Ali from Bangalore published in MAIL TODAY, daily at New Delhi on 11 th July 2008.