Auroville was founded by Mirra Alfassa—known as "The Mother"—the spiritual collaborator of the Indian philosopher and yogi Sri Aurobindo. On February 28, 1968, the township was inaugurated in a ceremony attended by representatives from 124 nations, each of whom brought a handful of soil from their homeland to be mixed in a lotus-shaped urn at the center of the future city.
The early years were characterized by immense physical hardship, as pioneers arrived to find a barren, sun-baked plateau. The community's primary focus became survival, well-digging, and large-scale afforestation. Over the subsequent decades, millions of trees were planted, effectively restoring the region's topsoil and microclimate.
Following the passing of The Mother in 1973, Auroville went through a period of internal and external conflict regarding the ownership and management of the township. This led to intervention by the Indian government and the eventual passing of the Auroville Foundation Act in 1988, which officially vested the assets of Auroville in an autonomous foundation under the Ministry of Education. Today, the community continues to grow, though it remains in the process of acquiring the remaining land required to complete its master plan.
