.KARAN SINGH’s REFORM: AUROVILLE Villains STALL 

Dr.Karan Singh could not carry forward his proposal with regard to the revised amendment to the Rules of the Auroville Foundation. Therein lies the power struggle between Karan Singh, who feels something, is wrong and needs correction, and the foreigners well entrenched to nourish their game plan to have control for themselves and keep Governing Board and its Chairman as puppets. This may be strong criticism, but that is what it means. Clothing their greed in polite words cannot always camouflage their

ultimate aim.

Let me quote from the “ conclusions and recommendations of the study group constituted for examining the implications of the revised amendment to the rules  proposed by the Chairman in the context of the primary purpose of the Auroville Foundation Act”. The constitution of such group, from the report, appears to dilute Dr.Karan Singh’s proposals. We thank him for taking some initiative, instead of being totally a puppet in the hands of vested interests. But we wish to point out that he being a Member of Parliament is duty bound to ask for a Joint Parliamentary Committee to discuss his proposals to amend the Auroville Foundation Act. The Act is passed by the Parliament. And our Parliament is the right forum to decide upon amending the Auroville Foundation Act, taking stock of the past 20 years of experience of the working of the Act. The arguments developed by Dr.Karan Singh in the preamble explaining the reasons that prompted the proposed revised amendment to Rules are as follows : 

• By transferring the responsibility for constituting the FAMC from the Governing Board to the Resident Assembly, the previously proposed amendment [in the year 2000] seeks to dilute the Governing Board’s statutory responsibility to secure proper management of the Foundations funds and assets.
• The rules made under an Act of Parliament are subordinate or delegated legislation and cannot go beyond the explicit provisions of the Act. On this count, the rules suffer from infirmity, as in some cases, they seek to go beyond the provisions of the Act.
• Besides the human asset, the properties [immovable  and movable including money] are the most important assets of any organization. The responsibility for Managing these two assets of the Foundation rests squarely on the Governing Board. Thus the governing board and its Chairman are in equal measure, accountable to Parliament for proper management of both— activities and assets.
• In the eventuality of the assets being mismanaged, the Governing Board may not be able to absolve itself of its statutory responsibilities.

It becomes evident from the passages quoted above that the vested interests who are making hay while it shines wanted to amend the Auroville Foundation Act in 2000. And Dr.Karan Singh could not assimilate the arguments advanced and hence toyed with the idea of bringing revised amendment to rules. One mistake of Dr.Karan Singh that he should have discussed this issue in Parliament, which made the Act, and the Act that created the Governing Board.Dr.Karan Singh nominated by the Government of India is answerable to the Parliament elected by the people of India, and not the Resident assembly of Auroville , which is not even representative of a village panchayat under Indian local bodies act.

But Dr.Karan Singh was half hearted. He felt the throb to bring amendments and mooted proposals with earnest desire to debate in an internal forum, but forgot the national forum, namely the Indian Parliament where he should have introduced his proposals even as a private member bill, at least to draw the attention of Government of India, and Indian Parliament.

NOW COMES THE SUB-GROUP OF THE STUDY GROUP VETO of DR.KARAN SINGH’s  PROPOSALS: 

“ Therefore we believe that a statement that Auroville properties and activities are to be directly managed by the Governing Board would be in contradiction not only of the primary purpose of the Act but also with the aims of Auroville envisaged by the Mother as expressed in Auroville charter for the furtherance of which Auroville Foundation has been established.”

“ It is also important in this context that the Mother envisaged Auroville as universal , free international city, with no army and police. This statement of hers suggest a polity quite different from what is usually known in terms of administration.”

“ A strict application of the letter and provisions of the Act without reference to its spirit as presented to the Parliament would defeat the primary purpose of the Auroville Foundation which is to encourage and promote the ideals and programmes envisaged in the charter of Auroville. Similarly any proposal for a revised amendment to the Rules and the restructuring of the FAMC such as proposed by the Chairman should be aligned with the spirit of the Act and ideals of Auroville “ 

Dravida Peravai comments : 

The Directive Principles of the Constitution of
India, wherein total prohibition is set as one of its goals is not enforceable. Similarly whatever vision Ms.Mirra Alfasa, the Mother of Aurobindo’s followers had about Auroville, that is not enforceable. If
India could not realize the dream of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, it cannot enforce the dream of a Mother of a Group , a miniscule among Indian people. The purpose of bringing Auroville Foundation Act was to relieve it from the clutches of the then mismanagement, when it was realized the top V.I.P committed suicide, it is alleged to escape public scrutiny. India can have free ports, duty free ones, but not free international city, eroding its sovereignty, particularly in the world where terrorists are looking for safe havens to operate. 

It is against Constitution of
India, and even the mandate of Indian people to their elected Parliament, which cannot declare a town as free from army or police, like litter free zones. These words prove the allegation of Ms.Rachel Wright in the BBC news night programme that what is aimed at is Vatican type of city, independent, out of
India’s sovereignty. It also establishes that this NO POLICE policy only leads peadophiles like Didier Kiem, honourably given farewell and send off to continue with his crimes in
Pondicherry for few more years till law catches them. 

Tamilnadu Government headed by Dr.Kalaignar M.Karunanithi who sets up special economic zones bring development to the regions, but if he allows a city free from Indian laws, to keep his police away, as if it is a private property ,it will only end in tamils driven out as refugees from Auroville.  INSTITUTE OF
PUBLIC AUDITORS OF INDIA opine : 

In his letter dated May 12^th of 2006, the Secretary of the Institute of Public Auditors of India made the following remarks:

“ We would reiterate that the relationship of these units with the Foundation is not clearly spelt out in any organizational guidelines”. “ It would be appropriate if the Governing Board will initiate some discussions on the need for structural problems and inter se relationship between Foundation and the Trusts.” 

THIS IS THE CORE ISSUE. SITTING UNDER THE PROTECTIVE UMBRELLA OF A GOVERNMENT FOUNDATION CREATED BY INDIAN PARLIAMENT, the white collar white men have set up various trusts which they want to run as feudal lords, not accountable to the Auroville Foundation or its Governing Board now headed by Dr.Karan Singh.

The charter says Auroville belongs to nobody but the whitemen, sorry we have no clour prejudice, we only nick name those who imagine they are in colonial period and come from superior race, which is against all that is being said that all are equals.

Auroville Charter states that Auroville belongs to nobody in particular. Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole. Then if it is so does it belong to the Tamils living in the villages for centuries, and are they made Aurovillians? Three thousand years ago Tamil poets told that every country is ours and all are our kinsmen. Such broad minded Tamils are not made Aurovillians, and it is cruel joke to proclaim Auroville belongs to nobody.

But to live in Auroville, one must be the willing servitor of the Divine Consciousness. Auroville will be the place of an unending education, of constant progress, and a youth that never ages. Well what is the yardstick to measure the level of human consciousness? What scanner the Auroville Foundation had imported to periodically check the level of human consciousness? If there is no scientific method or apparatus to evaluate the level of human consciousness for qualifying to live in Auroville, who is authorized to determine such admissions? We could not find a single youth in Aurobindo Ashram or Auroville nor Guinness Book of World Records has any entries about an international town whose youth never ages.

‘Auroville wants to be the bridge between the past and the future. Taking advantage of all discoveries from without and from within, Auroville will boldly spring towards future realizations. Auroville will be a site of material and spiritual researches for a living embodiment of an actual Human Unity.’ Sweet words but in reality ?

Before bridging past and future think of bridging the poor Tamils and affluent outsiders, and human unity can blossom only when human dignity of Tamils is respected.

N.Nandhivarman General Secretary Dravida Peravai

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