Text of the tribute from the Auroville video

“An Arrow into the Future”: Auroville’s Long Journey with Dr Karan Singh

It is said that the relationships one forms during one’s life are far more relevant than one’s achievements.

In its long and difficult journey, Auroville has formed myriad relationships with people from all over the world who have joined hands with Aurovilians to create movements of joy and strengths.

Dr Karan Singh has been one such luminary who, as chairman of the Auroville Governing Board, established a growing and increasingly rewarding relationship with Auroville. This bond has lasted from 1991, when he was appointed the first chairman of the Auroville Governing Board, to his concluding fifth term in office this year.

We, the residents of Auroville, take the opportunity to thank Dr Karan Singh for the generous time, energy, and goodwill that he has invested for all these years.

While Auroville’s journey with Dr Karan Singh began in the early 90s, his unofficial association with Auroville commenced much earlier in the 1950s when he visited The Mother at the Ashram and formed a strong psychic link with her and Sri Aurobindo’s work. In the 1960s when Auroville, the City of Dawn, was emerging on a physical plane, he eagerly awaited her birth. According to him, Auroville had “a very special ambience, because Auroville was envisaged by The Mother as a concrete manifestation of the new consciousness.”

The numerous contributions that Dr. Karan Singh made to Auroville’s growth led to its long- term stability and progress in the late 90s and into the twenty first century. Under his chairmanship the residents of Auroville renewed their faith and trust in the Auroville Foundation. With his administrative foresight and amicable demeanour, Dar. Karan Singh won over government leaders and established Indian industrialists to give Auroville the much-needed support.

The process of completing Matrimandir received a strong momentum with Dr Karan Singh’s personal involvement.

During his tenure with the help of Government of India grants, new buildings and infrastructure were added to Auroville’s urban landscape especially in the area of the Town Hall, and construction of new residential complexes received a boost. This development lessened the housing crisis for Aurovilians to a great extent.

Having seen Auroville grow from its infancy to its 50th year, Dr. Karan Singh played a major role in the Golden Jubilee Celebrations in 2018. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Auroville for the first time and was happy to be felicitated as the chief guest by none other than Dr. Karan Singh and the Auroville community. 

It has been largely due to Dr. Karan Singh’s down-to-earth attitude and his generous spirit that Auroville values him as a member of its extended family. This connection does not stop with the ending of the tenure. We wish and hope that this relationship of goodwill and trust will continue with Auroville’s journey into the future.