Auroville

About Auroville:

• Auroville was founded by Mirra Alfassa, known as the ‘Mother’, the spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo on the 28th of February, 1968, as an international cultural township.
• It is the largest and oldest surviving international intentional community in the world.
• Location: It is located on the outskirts of Puducherry, in the Villupuram District of Tamil Nadu.
• 3300 people from 58 nations, including India, live together as one community and engage themselves in cultural, educational, scientific, and other pursuits aimed at human unity. 
• It has flourished from a barren desert to a 3,000-acre township and bioregion in which more than 3 million trees have been planted, home to rich biodiversity, 9 schools, multiple social enterprises, etc.
• UNESCO had endorsed the project of Auroville through four resolutions in 1966, 1968, 1970, and 1983. 
• The township is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Education since 1980 and is administered as per the provisions of the Auroville Foundation Act, 1988, passed by the Parliament of India.
• According to the provisions of the Auroville Foundation Act, the Government of Indiaprovides partial funding in the form of grants to the Foundation for meeting its expenditure on the establishment, maintenance, and development of Auroville.

Q1: Who was Sri Aurobindo?

Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 5 December 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yoga guru, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist. He was also a journalist, editing newspapers such as the Bande Mataram. He joined the Indian movement for independence from British colonial rule, until 1910 was one of its influential leaders and then became a spiritual reformer, introducing his visions on human progress and spiritual evolution.

Source: Range of complaints regarding Auroville referred to agencies, says MoS