Promoting safety – the work of the Security Team

Ramesh. V was Auroville’s Police Liaison and has been running the Auroville Security Team for the last 11 years together with Anandamayi and Shahar, who each put in eight years. Recently, they all submitted their resignations. “It has been enough,” they say. “It’s time for a change. A new team should take over. We want to move on.” The Working Committee is now looking for suitable replacements.

Are they satisfied with what was achieved? The years have been tiresome, they say, but yes, security has improved, even though the culture of violence in the surrounding area hasn’t, or at least, not much. “It wasn’t a glorious job,” says Shahar, “but we believe it was well-done.”

“We started to take our security seriously after that dark moment in January 2004 when Aurovilian Sydo was brutally killed in his house in Udumbu,” says Ramesh. “And over the years we did many experiments. Mother had said that security in Auroville should be ensured by a battalion of guards made up of athletes and gymnasts, so we formed day and night guards consisting of Aurovilians – but gradually people dropped out. We tried setting up Local Area Security Teams, groups of committed Aurovilians from each sector of Auroville, to help with security issues in their neighborhood – it failed. We tried to form a Rapid Intervention Team, a team of Aurovilians with exceptional skills like martial arts or with the physical strength to respond in crisis situations – this too didn’t work. We then hired professional security companies, but for years we had to struggle with their constant demands for more money and their shortage of man power.”

“That wasn’t a pleasant experience,” recalls Shahar. “They often threatened to stop providing services if we would not comply. At some point we’d had enough and terminated the contracts and went for direct employment instead. It was a good decision. We now hired people who had been working for security services before. We provide their uniforms, their raincoats, and their cell phones, and we cover their travel and food expenses and so on. Financially it works out too. The last security company we had worked with asked Rs 19,500 per person per month; we have been able to reduce that to approximately Rs 14,500. That’s a substantial saving.”

“But the Budget Coordination Committee keeps complaining that Auroville’s security is too costly,” says Anandamayi. “Security is their second heaviest budget, so they try to cut. But in fact, we are still running on the 2007 budget, yearly increased by 10% to keep up with inflation. We haven’t expanded our team of 20 trained civilians and 3 Aurovilians. In fact, it is too small for all the work we are doing: looking after the day and night security, manning the check posts, patrolling the area, providing an escort service on demand, and running the fire department.”

Security has become a country-wide concern after the 2009 blasts that rocked Mumbai. The Tamil Nadu government made it mandatory that all public buildings have CCTV coverage, which is slowly being introduced in Auroville. And it started paying special attention to Auroville. In 2011, the Auroville Police Station was upgraded and is now headed by an Inspector. The police have also increased their mobile patrolling of the area, which has done a lot of good to reduce harassments and thefts. “They come within 10-20 minutes of our call,” says Ramesh. “The message is clear, we involve the police immediately.” He recalls how, many years ago, a young thief caught by a few Aurovilians was escorted back to his home in the village and not handed over to the police. “For the Aurovilians, it was an act of compassion. But the youngster was so ashamed that he hanged himself. The family then threatened Auroville and asked for compensation. The matter went to court and was dismissed. Since then we bring all cases to the police.”

The relationship with the police is well-developed, with good contacts at all levels. “They have well understood what Auroville aspires to be and what our problems are and they give 100% support,” says Shahar.” “For example, when the Bommaiarpalayam murder happened, they deployed a huge posse of police personnel to prevent any untoward incidents. We make regular visits to them in Villupuram or Chennai, to keep them informed about what’s happening here.” When recently a drone was found in an Auroville community, the security team brought it immediately to the Police Station. “They were very supportive. Operating a camera drone requires special permission in India, which the Aurovilian who had bought it as a toy was completely unaware of. They checked if any sensitive photos had been made, found none and then let him go.”

The regular interaction with the police also shows the gaps in Auroville’s security. “We don’t own all the land in the city area, so we can’t close all access points,” says Ramesh. “There are 36 entrances to Auroville, and for years we have been trying to close some of them but without success. It makes our work more difficult.

We still have many incidents in Auroville, on average 12 each month. Regular incidents include thefts and break-ins, robberies, vandalism, sexual harassment, roadside robbery, bag-snatching, and sometimes physical violence caused by youngsters on motorbikes or even by people in cars. In the last year or so, the number of road incidents has reduced dramatically (on average 3 road side related incidents) due to the presence of the mobile Police patrolling unit, provided for the Auroville area specifically. The Team also assists whenever an Aurovilian is involved in a traffic accident.

“We give regular updates on our security situation,’ says Anandamayi. ‘We inform Aurovilians about recent occurrences and how they are being dealt with, and tell them how they can increase their security. We also talk to guesthouse managers and ask them to inform their guests about how they can prevent unwanted scenarios.” “Our job is to sense, assess and react to the challenges of the local environment.” says Shahar.

To improve security, the Security Team has proposed to erect more check posts; install more solar streetlights; install more CCTVs in key public areas to observe the movements of people; create a police outpost near Kuilaypalayam village, and find ways to prevent heavy vehicle traffic driving through Auroville as a short cut from National Highway 66 to the East Coast Road. The Team have a regular interactions with the authorities on these topics.

A relatively unknown aspect of the work of the Security Service is its fire fighting work. Auroville has vast areas of forest and the threat of forest wildfires in summers is real. The closest fire stations are kilometers away at JIPMER, Vanur and Kalapet, and when fire incidents happen their fire engines take too long to reach the spot – or are too large for Auroville’s roads. “It goes quicker using a tractor,” says Ramesh. “We have two 6,000 liters water tankers and a few fire extinguishers and Auroville’s security guards have been trained to use them.” The team, he says, has been fighting small wildfires approximately six times a year since Cyclone Thane.

There is one aspect where the Team is not mandated to intervene: conflicts between Aurovilians. “The Security Team is not an internal police which can be called in to solve internal Auroville disputes but they are generally present to assess the situation and stop violence whenever possible.” explains Shahar. “Internal conflicts have to be resolved differently. For we, too, are part of the Auroville family.”