 Auroville is an international township, near Pondicherry in South India, whose sole purpose is to realize human unity in diversity.
As of the latest official census of November 10, 2005, it is a community of 1,780 people (1,367 adults and 413 minors), 736 of whom are of Indian origin
. The Auroville settlement has members from around 35 countries in the world.
Mirra Alfassa, known as The Mother, had organized the followers of Aurobindo into the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, and originated the idea of the universal township.
Later on, with her blessings, the idea was taken up by the Sri Aurobindo Society and along with the Indian government, the concept was presented to the United Nations.
In 1966, UNESCO passed a resolution giving their acceptance and support to this unique project. The community was founded in February 1968 in order to create a bridgehead for a new consciousness which was seeking to manifest in the world, according to the vision of Sri Aurobindo, and was under the direct guidance of The Mother.
The project's name is a combination of the first four letter of Aurobindo, and the French word ville for "city".
It is also referred to as the City of Dawn.
After the death of The Mother in 1973, problems arose through disagreements with some sections of the Ashram in Pondicherry and a period of turmoil followed. Due to a perceived betrayal of Sri Aurobindo's values of equanimity and harmony, a number of members became disillusioned and left Auroville, but the majority went on with building the township.
The township itself consists of areas in Tamil Nadu. Presently, the Auroville project is overseen by the Auroville Foundation through an act of Parliament called the Auroville Foundation Act (1988).
The Foundation currently owns about half of the total land required for the township. Additional lands are being acquired through consistent fundraising activities by the Aurovilian residents for which endeavour they are considerably helped by Auroville InternationalCenters throughout the world.
The city was planned by The Mother with some rudimentary sketches, leaving the details for future generations.
Basically the shape of the town is fashioned after a spiral galaxy, symbolising life and humankind's evolving existence. In the middle of the town is the Matrimandir, the "Soul" of the city, symbolizing the birth of a new consciousness, of a new era where human unity, conscious living and inter-cultural collaboration are to prevail.
The Matrimandir is the cohesive force of the township, a place to find one's consciousness. Radiating from this centre are four zones as indicated by The Mother: the Residential ZoneIndustrial Zone Cultural Zone and International Zone.
Around the city area proper a so-called Green Belt has formed through rigorous and steady rehabilitation of the land. Here one finds Auroville's farms, forestries and a large botanical garden-in-the-make. In future it is going to act as a buffer-zone and an area for recreation.
There are more than 100 settlements spread throughout the Auroville area, each different in their style and standard of living and concentrating on various activities, such as for instance:
Aspiration (education, health and activities of the village)
Aurelec (computer science)
Fertile (reforestation and agriculture)
Forecomers (reforestation)
together with the local Tamil communities)
Meadows (reforestation and agriculture)
Nine Palms (reforestation and agriculture)
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a French colony which has settled in the early part of the 18th