I listened to T.N. Ravi's speech in Auroville from November 7. He is both the governor of Tamil Nadu and the chairman of the Auroville Foundation. His talk was intended to inspire and wake up Aurovillians to what he saw as their responsibilities at a time of much discord within the township.

It was a good speech, in tune with the higher purpose of Auroville. Ravi claims to be a lifelong student of Sri Aurobindo (whom he calls "Rishi Aurobindo" - the first time I'd heard that). I do not know enough about the man to give much of an opinion. He is a representive of the national/federal government and apparently suspected of not being very progressive on a range of issues, but my sense of him was that in this talk he was being very sincere, and genuinely concerned about the future of the township. (There are politicians who are actually downright hostile towards it, and this too, is unfortunately a reasonable viewpoint.)

I understood from the speech that the expectation from India is that the people, especially foreigners, who live in Auroville should concentrate on spiritual sadhana (through nishkama karma), and avoid getting involved in power struggles, rights of ownership or politics. At some level that seems fair, because it reflects the original purpose of the township. I don't know how fair it seems to Aurovillians, especially 2nd and 3rd generation children of Aurovillians, who may have developed their own views and expectations. But if I chose to live in Auroville, my motivation would be spiritual.

The way that India regards the presence of foreigners is decidedly backward, during an era when people ought to be able to live where they want, under certain conditions. But it's also necessary to look at this with a remembrance of India's recent colonial past and its present day concerns. Whatever the justifications or lack of justifications for this behaviour, nations have their psychological issues, just as people do. Sometimes, if we are feeling generous, we can give an understanding nod.

But this is not about India, but about India's relationship with Auroville and those who live there.