Shri. R. N. Ravi
Hon’ble Governor of Tamil Nadu and
Chairman of Auroville Foundation
Tenure: 06-10-2021 to 05-10-2025
Thiru. Ravindra Narayan Ravi born at Patna in Bihar did his Masters in Physics in 1974. After a brief stint in journalism joined the Indian Police Service in 1976 and was allotted to the Kerala Cadre. He served in Kerala in various capacities including Districts for over a decade and then in different parts of the country in various capacities. While serving in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), he led several anti-corruption crusades against organised criminal gangs including the mining mafias in the country.
While in the Intelligence Bureau (IB), Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, the premier intelligence agency of the country, he served largely in theatres of insurgencies and violence including in the Jammu & Kashmir, the North East and the Maoist infected regions. He also specialised in the dynamics of human migration in South Asia and worked extensively on the political sociology of border population.
He has played crucial roles in conflict resolutions in areas affected with ethnic insurgencies and brought several armed rebel groups into peace. He was the architect of India’s international cooperation in counter terrorism and intelligence sharing.
After retirement from Government service in 2012, he wrote regular columns in national dailies.
He was appointed as the Chairman of Joint Intelligence Committee in the Prime Minister’s Office, where as the Head of the Intelligence Community, he co-ordinated and guided the agencies to meet the National Security needs of the Country.
He was appointed as the Centre’s Interlocutor for the Naga peace talks in August 2014. Within a short time he could achieve a paradigm shift in the peace process by bringing the issue from abroad to the land and its people and made it truly inclusive by making the genuine stakeholders integral to it. Soon all the rebel armed groups signed agreements for a settlement of the seven decades old separatist insurgency within the Indian Union and the ambit of the Constitutions of India, which could usher peace in Nagaland and the rest of the North-East India. He was appointed as Deputy National Security Advisor in October 2018.
He served as the Governor of Nagaland from 01st August 2019 till 16th September 2021. He has been appointed as the Governor of Tamil Nadu by the Hon’ble President of India and assumed the office as 26th Governor of Tamil Nadu on 18th September 2021.
Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan
Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, Hon’ble Governor of Telangana and
Governing Board Member of Auroville Foundation
Tenure: 06-10-2021 to 05-10-2025
On February 18, 2021, Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan assumed office as the Lt. Governor of the Union Territory of Puducherry. She has also been the Governor of Telangana state from 8th September 2019 to date.
Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan was born on June 2, 1961, in Nagercoil, Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu. She actively engaged in public service beginning when she was a little girl.
Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan is regarded for being a passionate leader who has great compassion for the oppressed, impoverished groups, and other people in need. She gained a reputation as a firebrand leader with an unwavering commitment to serving the people. She was able to resolve problems affecting regular people thanks to her unwavering work ethic and commitment to people’s welfare.
After earning her MBBS and DGO, she started her career as a Medical Professional. She also worked for seven years as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Gynaecology until leaving her position to enter full-time politics in 2003.
Her exposure to various instances and the difficulties of the poor in distant, rural, and remote places to access a decent education, healthcare, and other services was a major driving force for her political entry. Her political entry was inevitable to help the needy as she fostered a great deal of dedication to public service and raising the living standards of the average person with a focus on health and education as her top priorities.
Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan held the positions of State General Secretary, Spokesperson, Vice-President of the BJP’s Tamil Nadu State Unit, National Secretary at the federal level, and State General Secretary from August 2014 to September 1, 2019, during which time she managed the entire organization. She showcased extraordinary leadership in handling the State unit of the party to actively meet the needs of the people. She left a lasting imprint all her own during her distinguished political career. She additionally held the position of Independent Director at Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. until the first of September 2019.
Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan has written eight books and numerous essays on a variety of topics for Tamil and English magazines and dailies. He is also a voracious reader of a wide range of books. She demonstrated her abilities as a persuasive speaker, a formidable debater on television, and a popular radio guest.
Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan received the International Rising Star of the Year Award-2018 from the Multi-Ethnic Advisory Task Force, USA, led by US Congressman Danny K Davis, in honor of her efforts and contributions to politics, healthcare, and public life. Additionally, she received the USA’s Top 20 Global Women of Excellence Award for 2021. Based on her contributions to women’s rights, gender parity, women’s empowerment, and women’s equality, the award was given to her.
Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan is well known for her steadfast support for raising people’s circumstances, with a focus on empowering women and young people, strengthening health and education systems, and improving the livelihood of people residing in the backward areas. The welfare of all people and their prosperity are her guiding values.
Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan is a strong supporter of instilling Indian values, culture, traditions, and humility in students right from the beginning of schooling and beyond. She is a great admirer of our nation’s precious social and cultural strengths. She is passionate about the Tamil language, its literature, and its culture. She particularly enjoys the great saint Thiruvalluvar’s classical masterpiece Thirukural.
Dr. Nirima Oza
Professor, D/o Oral Pathology
Mahatma Gandhi Postgraduage Institute of Dental Sciences, Puducherry and
Governing Board Member of Auroville Foundation
Tenure: 06-10-2021 to 05-10-2025
Shri. Aravindan Neelakandan
Writer and Journalist, Tamil Nadu and
Governing Board Member of Auroville Foundation
Tenure: 06-10-2021 to 05-10-2025
Shri. Aravindan Neelakandan is a noted Tamil author. He co-authored the English non-fiction book Breaking India, a bestseller.
As a writer, he started off writing articles on science and Indology in the Tamil portal Thinnai.com. He was a columnist of UPI Asia, and continued writing for many Tamil portals and online magazines. He also serves as the mentor to the Srishti Madurai.
Currently, he is senior editor in Swarajya Magazine, which was co-founded by Rajaji. He writes mainly on Science, Philosophy of Science, History and Evolution.
Prof. Goutam Ghosal
Course – Coordinator of English Department, Biswa Bangla Biswabidyalay (A State University)
Former Professor and Head of the English Department, Visva-Bharati (A Central University) &
Governing Board Member of Auroville Foundation
Tenure: 06-10-2021 to 05-10-2025
Prof. R. S. Sarraju
Pro Vice-Chancellor
Former Head of the Department of Hindi and presently Head of Centre for Dalit
Adivasi and Translation Studies, University of Hyderabad and
Governing Board Member of Auroville Foundation
Tenure: 06-10-2021 to 05-10-2025
Formerly Head of the Department of Hindi, and of the Center for Dalit, Adivasi and Translation Studies, University of Hyderabad, Prof. R. S. Sarraju was born on 20th September 1958 in Prathipadu, East Godavari, in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh.
After graduating from Osmania University, Hyderabad, he obtained his M.A. in Hindi language and literature from Andhra University, Visakhapatnam. His thesis on “The Birth of Novel Literature in India; a comparative and sociological analysis” was awarded a Ph. D from Andhra University. Later he worked as a Research Associate, and started teaching Hindi language and literature at the post-graduate level. Subsequently he was appointed as a Lecturer in the Department of Hindi, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam.
He joined UoH in 1996 and became Professor in 2008. Professor Sarraju has served in the Jawaharlal Nehru Cultural Centre, Embassy of India, Moscow on deputation and taught at the Moscow State University and Moscow State University of Humanities. He has also visited South Africa in 2012 and USA in 2017 and 2018.
Professor Sarraju specializes in the areas of Functional Hindi, Translation Studies and comparative Indian Literature. Recognizing his contributions to Hindi language and literature, he was awarded a certificate of merit by the Ministry of Human Resource Development [now Ministry of Education], Government of India in 1989. The government of Bihar conferred the prestigious Dr. George Grierson award in 2015.
He has published 8 books and more than 60 research papers. He has also translated from Hindi to Telugu and vice-versa, including a translation of science fiction of Mr. K. Sadasiva Rao I.P.S. from Telugu to Hindi and Mahesh Chandra Sharma’s Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay from Hindi to Telugu for the Government of India. Besides these, his more significant books include Bharatiya upanyas sahitya ki bhoomika (1986), Telugu kavya dhara mein adunikhatah bodh (1988), Bharatiya upanyas sahitya ka udhbav (2005), Prayojan mulak Hindi: sthithi sandarbh aur prayukthi visleshan (2006), Aaj ki Hindi aur anuvad ki samasyayien (2007), Tulanatmak sodh aur samajsastreey bodh (Edited, 2016).
12 Research students have been awarded PhD and 23 students have been awarded MPhil under his guidance so far.
He has served as a member of the Executive Council of Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtreey Hindi University, Wardha, and of the Kendriya Anudan Samiti of Central Hindi Directorate. More recently, Professor Sarraju has been nominated a member of the Hindi Advisory Committee, Ministry of Civil Aviation, and of the Hindi Advisory Committee, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Prof. Nandana Gurappa Basappa
Department of PG Studies in Political Science, Karnataka University, Dharward and
Governing Board Member of Auroville Foundation
Tenure: 06-10-2021 to 05-10-2025
Smt. Neeta Prasad
Joint Secretary (ICC)
Ministry of Education, Government of India and
Member (Ex-Officio)
Tenure: 06-10-2021 to 05-10-2025
Ms. Neeta Prasad is an Indian Information Service Officer of 1991 Batch. She is heading the International Cooperation Cell of Ministry of Education.
Shri. Sanjog Kapoor
Joint Secretary & Finance Advisor
Ministry of Education, Government of India and
Member (Ex-Officio)
Tenure: 13-12-2022 to 05-10-2025