The Residents’ Assembly of Auroville has issued a rebuttal to an article (‘Explained: Auroville’s development plan and the path forward’) and to an interview with the Auroville Foundation secretary Jayanti Ravi (‘We shall implement the master plan designed by the Mother’) in THE WEEK issue dated December 14, 2025.
1. Attribution of the Auroville Charter to Jayanti Ravi: The interview presents words from the Auroville Charter—proclaimed by the Mother (Mirra Alfassa), founder of Auroville, in 1968—as if they were statements made by Jayanti Ravi herself. It states: "Auroville belongs to nobody in particular. It belongs to humanity as a whole. But to live in Auroville, one must be a willing servitor." This attribution appears three times across the article and the interview, creating the misleading impression that these are Ravi's original words rather than the Mother's Charter, which is Auroville’s founding document. Moreover, the Charter's actual text states, "… a willing servitor of the Divine Consciousness"—the crucial words "of the Divine Consciousness" have been omitted, fundamentally altering the meaning.
2. False claims about the Master Plan and the Mother's design: Ravi states in the interview: "The act is all about the master plan. It says we shall implement the master plan as designed by the Mother." The article reinforces this by stating, "Every little thing was designed by Her." Both claims are factually incorrect. First, the Master Plan was not designed by the Mother; it was created by Aurovillians and submitted to the Government of India in 2000, as many as 27 years after the Mother’s passing. The [online] article’s subtitle, “Auroville's galaxy master plan, a development blueprint envisioned by its founder” is therefore misleading. Secondly, this subtitle is doubly misleading, as the Master Plan nowhere mentions a galaxy plan in its main text, but only in two side illustrations; in no way is a galaxy plan central to the Master Plan. Thirdly, the Mother provided spiritual vision and guidance for Auroville; she did not design specific urban plans. Lastly, the Auroville Foundation Act of 1988 is primarily about the assets, organisation and governance of Auroville, not exclusively or primarily about implementing a master plan.
3. Unsubstantiated and defamatory allegations of violence and crime: In the interview, Ravi makes serious allegations without any supporting evidence: (1) "People say there were attacks, killings and bloodshed" (before the Act was passed), and (2) "Anybody who lives in Tamil Nadu knows that drugs, trafficking and idol theft complaints and even paedophilia was happening here." These are inflammatory accusations made without any substantiation, documentation or named sources. Such claims amount to defaming an entire community. Quite the contrary, Auroville’s growth before Ravi’s term resulted in numerous educational and skilling projects that hugely benefited the surrounding villages, apart from a regenerated environment; contrary to Ravi’s scurrilous claims, Auroville enjoys an excellent reputation in the bioregion and beyond.
4. Mischaracterisation of governance structure: The article states: "All assets are vested in the Auroville Foundation, headed by its secretary." This is incorrect. The secretary is not the head of the Auroville Foundation. According to the Auroville Foundation Act, the Foundation consists of three statutory bodies: (1) the Governing Board chaired by a chairperson (under whose authority the secretary works), (2) the International Advisory Council (with its own chairperson), and (3) the Residents’ Assembly. The article wrongly conflates the secretary's administrative role with the leadership of the entire Foundation.
Auroville is a unique experiment in human unity that has been recognised and endorsed by UNESCO five times. The residents of Auroville, who have dedicated their lives to manifesting a vision of human unity and progress, do not deserve to be demonised and vilified; they deserve to have their voices heard accurately and their concerns reported faithfully and fairly.
