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*To the Members of the Working Committee, the Members of the Auroville
Council, Auroville; 04 August 2003, from Kireet Joshi, Chairman; N°
AV/CH/43/03:
“Dear Friends,
I write this letter, first of all, to thank you for your letter addressed to the Members
of the Governing Board in which you have expressed your appreciation of the work
and support that has been extended by the Governing Board to various activities of
Auroville. I should like to assure you that the Governing Board will continue its
support and extend and seek collaboration in all tasks that are devoted to the
promotion of the ideals contained in the Charter of Auroville.
During the last few weeks, the Members of the Governing Board have received
numerous letters of support from a number of residents of Auroville, and we feel
that a climate is being increasingly created under which all the residents of
Auroville can be united for united service to the Matrimandir and to the Future of
Auroville. In creating this climate, the Members of the Working Committee and the
Council have played a significant role, which deserves to be greatly appreciated.
In this background, it is to be ensured that harmony in Auroville comes to be
established and stabilised more and more securely. Nothing should, therefore,
happen or be allowed to happen that would come in the way of solving the
problems, not only in regard to Matrimandir, but also in regard to various other
fields of Auroville.
At this stage, I should like to inform you that the Union Government’s Secretary for
Secondary and Higher Education, Shri S.K. Tripathi, has decided to visit Auroville on
an official visit soon after the Monsoon Session of the Parliament, i.e. soon after the
22
nd
August 2003. As you know, Shri Tripathi had been warmly supporting
Auroville. He had recently taken the trouble to make a trip to Paris from Delhi,
particularly to take part in the celebration at UNESCO of the 35
th
Anniversary of
Auroville. He, along with Dr. L.M. Singhvi and myself, had called on the Director
General of UNESCO. He participated in the programme of the Inauguration of the
Exhibition in Auroville. His addresses on these occasions were full of appreciation of
Auroville and its multifarious activities.
I should also like to mention that it was under his Chairmanship that the
programme of development of SAIIER was approved, as a result of which the
allocation of the sum of Rs. 15 crores has been made for SAIIER and other
development activities of Auroville for the 10
th
Five Year Plan. Again, it was under
his Chairmanship that the Grant-in-Aid Committee sanctioned Rs. 45 lakhs for the
year 2002-03 exclusively towards the maintenance of the Research Team of
SAIIER.
I should also like to mention that towards the end of August, a Committee is going
to visit SAIIER in order to assess the work being done by SAIIER in the context of
the evaluation of the scheme under which SAIIER has been receiving financial
assistance since 1984. This visit is also very important, and we all need to prepare
ourselves adequately, both in terms of our team spirit and of the quality of our
educational research work.