A NEW CHAIRMAN AND GOVERNING BOARD, AND A NEW IAC!

A new Chairman and Governing Board, and a new IAC.pdf

“I look upon this Auroville Foundation Act passed by the Parliament as not just another Act but something much deeper and more profound.”

Dr. Karan Singh in his maiden speech in Auroville in 1992

We believe there is great truth in this statement. Behind this association of the Government of India (GoI) with Auroville, we see a meaning, a significance.

We believe that the flourishing of Auroville in the course of time, can contribute to the flourishing of the Indian and the world civilizations thanks to the new evolutionary worldview and extraordinarily rich source of inspiration of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.

It is therefore a matter of joy to know that after a period of silence, the Government of India has finally notified – in addition to a new secretary – a new Chairman and Governing Board (GB) and a new International Advisory Council (IAC) of the Auroville Foundation.

In our last issue, we published the article “A New Secretary Brings New Hope” and now that hope seems to be gaining greater momentum with more eminent people joining the journey of Auroville. We see on the horizon a new chapter in the growth of Auroville.

According to the announcement by the Working Committee of the Auroville Foundation, the new Chairman and the GB and IAC members are as follows:

Governing Board

1. Shri R.N. Ravi, Hon’ble Governor of Tamil Nadu (Chairman)
2. Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan, Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry (Member)
3. Dr. Nirima Oza, Professor, D/o Oral Pathology, Mahatma Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Dental Sciences, Puducherry (Member)
4. Shri Aravindan Neelakandan, Writer and Journalist, Tamil Nadu (Member)
5. Prof. Goutam Ghosal, Department of English & Other Modern European Languages, Visva-Bharti, Santiniketan, West Bengal (Member)
6. Prof. R.S. Sarraju Former Head of the Department of Hindi and presently Head of the Centre for Dalit, Adivasi and Translation Studies, University of Hyderabad (Member)
7. Prof. Nandana Gurappa Basappa, Department of PG Studies in Political Science, Karnataka University, Dharwad (Member)
8. Joint Secretary (ICC), Ministry of Education, Govt. of India (Ex-Officio Member)
9. Joint Secretary & Finance Advisor, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India

International Advisory Council (IAC)

1. Ms. Dena Merriam, Founder & Coordinator, Global Peace Initiative for Women
2. Ms. Gabi Gillessen, President, European Union of Yoga
3. Mr. Hasmukh P. Rama, Founder & Chancellor, AURO University, Surat
4. Mr. Michel Danino, Guest Faculty, IIT Gandhinangar
5. Mr. David Frawley, American Hindu scholar

Indeed, one of the great things that the Auroville Foundation has done for Auroville is to put many outstanding individuals in touch with Auroville. They have extended their moral support, advice, inspiration, and when necessary, their actual help, starting with Dr. Karan Singh, Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, and Prof. Kireet Joshi – all outstanding scholars in their respective fields. Each did their best to help direct the course of Auroville.

We warmly welcome his Excellency Shri R.N. Ravi as the new Chairman and all the members of the GB and IAC, and wish them a very happy and mutually enriching association with Auroville. We fervently hope that under their guidance and collaboration Auroville will scale new heights to become mankind’s first unique universal township.

More about the AVF new Secretary, Dr. Jayanti Ravi, is at https://www.awakin.org/gandhi/605/clips

Photo of the Governing Board members in front of the Matrimandir, courtesy of “The Hindu” – 3rd November 2021