Context: The students participating in Auroville exposure tour under the ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ programme, explored the units’ role in prosperity and Pondicherry Ashram.
More about the news:
- The programme has been initiated by the Ministry of Education to emphasise the relevance of the educational-cum-cultural tour to themes under National Education Policy - 202, G-20 Leaders’ Declaration, Shri Aurobindo's 150th Birth Anniversary and Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (EBSB).
- It has been envisioned following the suggestion of the Union Minister for Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship to introduce the Aurobindo circuit under EBSB.
- Emphasis of the initiative:
- Exposing the youth to spirituality and Sri Aurobindo's philosophy.
- Practical implementation of integral education, Auroville being a unique experiment towards that end.
- Auroville Foundation, an autonomous organisation of the Ministry of Education, is organising the programme.
About Auroville Foundation:
- It is an experimental township in the state of Tamil Nadu, with some parts in the Union Territory of Pondicherry in India.
- Founded by Mirra Alfassa in 1968 (known as ‘the Mother’).
- The name ‘Auroville’ has its origins in the French language. ‘Aurore’ means dawn and ‘Ville’ means village/city. Also, it has been named after Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950).
- In 1964, at the annual conference, with Mirra Alfassa as its executive president, the Sri Aurobindo Society in Pondicherry passed a resolution.
- The resolution was for the establishment of a city dedicated to the vision of Sri Aurobindo, who believed that ‘man is a transitional being’.
- Mirra Alfassa's first public message in 1965: “Auroville wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realize human unity.”
- The four-point charter set forth Mirra Alfassa’s vision of integral living:
- Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole. To live in Auroville, one must be the willing servitor of the Divine consciousness.
- It will be the place of an unending education, of constant progress.
- It will strive to be the bridge between the past and the future.
- It will be a site of material and spiritual research for a living embodiment of an actual human unity.
Read here about: Sri Aurobindo
Legal Status of the foundation:
- The Sri Aurobindo Society legally owned all of the city’s assets prior to 1980.
- In 1980, the Government of India passed the Auroville Emergency Provision Act, under which the city’s management was taken by the Indian Government.
- It was challenged by the society in the Supreme Court of India and in the final verdict the constitutional validity of the government’s action was upheld.
- Need was felt in 1988, to make an arrangement for the long-term management of Auroville.
- Auroville Foundation Act of 1988, was passed by the Indian Parliament, which stipulated that all movable and immovable assets of the city, will be vested in a foundation, known as Auroville Foundation.
- The foundation came into existence in 1991, as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Human Resource Development (now officially renamed as Ministry of Education). The foundation is headed by a secretary.
- The act also created a three-tier governing system: Governing board; Residents Assembly and International Advisory Council.
- Governing Board is selected by the Government of India. It consists of 7 prominent Indians in the fields of education, culture, environment and social service in the areas of Auroville's ideals.
- International Advisory Council has 5 members also selected by the Government. The members should have rendered valuable service to humanity in the areas of Auroville's ideals.
- Resident's Assembly consists of all official residents of the city.
Works by the foundation:
- Works closely together with the surrounding villages, via the Auroville Village Action Trust under which many different projects including the villages fall.
- Some of the projects under the trust are:
- Women’s empowerment, Education, Financial Support, Health Services.
- Sale of its own products in the name of AVAL, Surya and Kudumbam as social enterprise work.
- Deepam school for handicapped children, Thamarai community centre, Maruthuvam Healing forest and the ‘Reach for the Stars!’ program enabling higher education for village youth.
About Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat:
- It is an initiative of the Ministry of Education.
- The programme was announced by the Prime Minister on October 31st, 2015,on the occasion of the 140th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
- Aim: Knowledge of the culture, traditions and practices of different States & UTs will lead to an enhanced understanding and bonding between the States, thereby strengthening the unity and integrity of India.
- All States and UTs are covered under the programme.
- States/UTs will be paired at national level and these pairing will be in effect for 1 year, or till the next round of pairings.
- These pairings would be utilized for state level activities.
- District level pairings would be independent of the State level pairings.
- These activities will link various States and Districts in annual programmes.
- In turn, these programmes will connect people through exchanges in areas of culture, tourism, language, education trade etc.
Objectives:
- Celebrate the unity in diversity of our nation and to strengthen the fabric of traditionally existing emotional bonds between the people.
- Promotion of the spirit of national integration through a deep and structured engagement between all Indian states and UTs.
- Showcasing the rich heritage and culture, customs and traditions of either state, to enable people to understand and appreciate the diversity of India and foster a sense of common identity.
- Promoting learning between States by sharing best practices and experiences.
Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Engagement Matrix between:
- Gujarat : Chhattisgarh
- Tamil Nadu : Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh
- Madhya Pradesh : Manipur and Nagaland
- Himachal Pradesh : Kerala
- Maharashtra : Odisha
- Uttar Pradesh : Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh
- Punjab : Andhra Pradesh
- Goa : Jharkhand
- Lakshadweep : Andaman-Nicobar
- Uttarakhand : Karnataka
- Haryana : Telangana
- Rajasthan : Assam
- Delhi : Sikkim
- Bihar : Tripura and Mizoram
- Chandigarh and Puducherry : Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu