A voice of courage tells the truth about the administration’s many ways of constricting and stifling freedom, with effects on housing, work, loss of work, movement towards creating a profit-driven urban city.
Written January 2025
I try to maintain my original enthusiasm and spirit of service, but Auroville is changing very quickly. So much has been cancelled and shut down by the current administration—maintenance cut, the entire events budget for Matrimandir amphitheatre and other locations cut. Many Aurovilians are without housing contracts because they don’t have a work letter. Why? Because their unit has been shut down or their work isn’t recognized.
There are constant forms to fill in and we have to watch what we say. We have to sign agreements we normally never would or else housing and visa are withheld. We have to agree to leave our home when told to. For foreign nationals who can only live in Auroville, not having a legitimate place to live in Auroville means no housing contract. This means you cannot have a visa—given the acute housing shortage, that’s effectively an eviction notice. There is no sense that the bureaucracy cares about or even notices the suffering caused. It’s all done “for the Mother,” yet without the Mother’s love and care.
If your service isn’t recognized (for example as a healer, workshop facilitator or musician) you have no work letter, which means you can’t get a housing contract. And that means you can’t get a visa renewal. The administration is bureaucratically squeezing Aurovilians out one by one.
The new forms ask you to itemize the times and hours you work on each day to make sure you do the full 35 hours. Apparently, volunteers at Matrimandir have to literally clock in and out.
I hear that many Tamil Aurovilians whose maintenance has been cut now commute to Pondy for jobs. They don’t need visas, so don’t need work letters, and don’t need to provide any service to Auroville unless they need a housing contract. Another loss for our culture and community spirit.
As you can imagine, the bureaucracy combined with loss of places to gather is eroding the sense of community and devotion to the Mother. The administration now refers to us as “willing servitors” … omitting “of the Divine”!
There is much that is nourishing here—Matrimandir and the gardens, interesting talks, workshops, Johnny’s brunch, concerts at CRIPA, a packed audience with our lovely children in the front row. The winding paths through trees are just as beautiful. Auroville continues to attract inspired, interesting people, and new arrivals find Auroville amazing and love the energy. But at the same time a grip continually tightens, squeezing out much of what Auroville was and replacing it with something else.
I keep going by doing all I can to preserve the spirit of Auroville and to create light and inspiration for a hopeful future, but for all except the handful of Aurovilians in power it feels weird that we have no decision on how Auroville is being re-shaped.
The newly published development plan for the city crams tens of thousands of people into a few sectors in tiny apartment units. It doesn’t allow for spaces to gather in conscious ways, to sing or meditate together, nor workshops or places for creative expression. Some halls that used to be freely offered for free events now carry a 2500 rupee + GST (nearly 3000 rupee) rental fee. Now every unit or place is expected to make a profit. Facilitators can’t easily give their time and expertise. This greatly curbs the flow and exchange between us. Luckily some smaller halls still operate on a donation basis. May that be able to continue!
We can only surmise, but by their actions and statements, it appears the planners and administrators have forgotten that Auroville was intended to be a crucible for Supramental awareness and exploration. Where is the psychic? Where is genuine devotion to the Divine? It looks like their intention is to make it a model urban SMART city. We have no say in it. Two cell towers have been built, surveillance cameras are popping up everywhere, and the administration has started rolling out AV identity cards with an individual QR code. These will apparently be needed to enter security gates and other places.
Opposing this unstated plan = no visa.
It takes a strong, non-reactive center to withstand all this and still focus on Auroville’s and the Mother’s original purpose. Crazy times. Interestingly, the only way we can push back on the bureaucracy is to do what we most essentially came here for by standing strongly in light and align with our highest awareness.
I keep thinking “this has got to change”, but it hasn’t let up yet. I pray that it does change for the better.
By Anonymous