A section of residents from Auroville will present an exhibition in Chennai on June 6, showcasing photographs, videos, testimonies, and documentary evidence regarding the ongoing turmoil at the international township. Titled 'Auroville: An Experiment Under Threat,' the event aims to highlight the essence of Auroville, the challenges it has encountered over the past five years—including environmental degradation and other transformations—and its vision for the future, according to Arun Ambathy, a resource person from the Auroville forest group.
Exhibition Details
The exhibition will take place on June 6 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Spaces, located at 1 Elliot's Beach Road, Besant Nagar. Starting at 5 p.m., live music will be performed by Auroville farmer and musician Krishna McKenzie.
Residents' Concerns
Kundhavi Devi, a resident of Auroville, expressed concerns about the changes since 2021. She stated, 'The land on which Auroville stands was originally barren, and a sustainable thriving community was created over the years with hundreds of shade trees. Since 2021, the new secretary has bulldozed trees and exchanged lucrative lands on the highway. There have been instances of harassment and violence against those who resisted.'
Counter Perspective
However, Sindhuja Jagadeesh, a long-term Aurovillian and Auroville's legal coordinator, argued that the central premise of the exhibition—that the implementation of the approved master plan is a threat to Auroville—is fundamentally flawed. She said, 'Auroville's greatest threat was not development. It was the gradual capture of the project's narrative and institutions by a small but influential section of residents who increasingly treated personal preferences as superior to the founder's vision, the approved master plan, and the statutory framework created to protect them.'
The exhibition promises to offer a multifaceted look at the challenges facing Auroville, presenting both the concerns of residents and the official perspective on the master plan's implementation.
