; (Putuccēri), (Pāṃḍicěrri), (Putuśśēri), , English formerly Pondicherry, is a Union Territory of India. It is a former French colony, consisting of four non-contiguous enclaves, or regions, and named after the largest region, Puducherry. It is also known as The French Riviera of the East (La Côte d'Azur de l'Est). Of late, Puducherry is also considered an educational hub of southern India, having 1 central university, 8 medical colleges, 10 engineering colleges, 3 dental colleges, 2 law colleges, 1 veterinary college, 1 agricultural college, 10 arts & science colleges, & 5 polytechnic colleges functioning within its territory. Many medical and engineering colleges including one national institute of technology and a state-owned university are also reported to be in queue.

Geography

Pondicherry consists of four unconnected regions: Pondicherry, Karaikal, and Yanam on the Bay of Bengal and Mahé on the Arabian Sea. Puducherry and Karaikal are by far the larger ones, and are both enclaves of Tamil Nadu. Yanam and Mahé are enclaves of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, respectively. The territory has a total area of 492 km²: Puducherry , Karaikal , Mahé and Yanam . It has 900,000 inhabitants (2001).

History

We can find references to Poduke, a port town on the coromandal coast, in history. The identification of a Roman trading centre in the immediate vicinity of Pondicherry adds weight to the equation of Poduke with Pondicherry. Although this has been suggested by more than one writer, the equation of Poduke with Puduvai the name by which the town was known in the early days, seems to be more acceptable. According to tradition, the town was once upon a time an abode of scholars well versed in the Vedas and hence came to be known as Vedapuri. During the days of Ottakoothar and Kambar in the 11th and 12th centuries, Puducherry was known in its shortened form as Puthuvai. The Hindus called the town Puthuvai or Puducherry while the Muslims called it Pulcheri. The Portugese Puducheria became the Danish Polesere and the Dutch Pollochire. It was the French merchants who mixed up the "U" for "N" and transformed "Puducheri" into "Pondicheri". This region assumed the name Pondicherry in due course. Pondicherry otherwise known as Poudoucheri was under Vijayanagar Empire during 14th and 15th centuries. Then it passed to the hands of the Naiks of Thanjavur in the beginning of 16th century, and then came under the rule of Bijapur sultan.

By about 16th century, the Portugese and Danish also used the place as a trading centre. The first Frenchman set foot in Puduchery on 4 February 1673, and till 1690 the French were interested mainly in trade and commerce activities. The name of the place was changed to Pondicherry from Poudoucheri by the French. In a war between the French and the Dutch, the former was defeated and Pondicherry came under Dutch rule between 1693 and 1699. In September 1699, the French became the legal owners of the Pondicherry town on payment of 16000 pagodas to the Dutch. The Nawab Dawood Khan, representative of Aurangazeb, donated Kalapet village in 1703 to Francois Martin for getting supply of timber from the forests surrounding it for construction of houses. In 1706, he had further transferred 5 more villages: Ozhukarai, Murungapakkam, Olandai, Pakkamudaiyanpet and Karuvadi-kuppam to the French. In 1711, the French government in Paris recognized the importance of Pondicherry town and established a sovereign counsel to aid and advise them in the administration of the colony. Francois Martin was the virtual builder of Pondicherry towns during the 33 years of his administration. In 1740, Pondicherry provided asylum to the royal refugees of the ruler of the Karnatic when Marattas invaded him. Consequently, the Marattas attacked the French for this gesture but was defeated. In gratification of the gesture, the survivors of the Karnatic dynasty gifted Ariankuppam, Theduvanatham, and Villianur to the French.
Joseph François Dupleix became the Governor of the French Territory in India on 15 January 1742 and brought Madras also under French control in September 1746; Madras continued under French rule for 30 years. An attack on Pondicherry by the British in 1748 failed. Dupleix's help to Chanda Sahib and Musafer Jung in 1750 added Villianur and Bahour, a group of 36 villages, to French control. This was the peak period of the French regime; thereafter there was a decline in their sovereignty.

Internal disturbances in Pondicherry gave the British the opportunity, in August 1793, to gain control of Pondicherry; it was administered as part of Madras till 1815. However, after the Treaty of Paris in 1814, the British restored the settlements, which the French had possessed on 1 January 1792, back to the French in 1816. French rule continued till 31 October 1954.

Pondicherry helped in the freedom movement in British India since 1910. Sri Aurobindo of Bengal came to Pondicherry in 1910 followed by patriots like Poet Subramanya Bharathi, V.V.C Iyer and others. In 1918, the British demanded the extradition of Sri Aurobindo and other freedom fighters. The French government did not comply with this.
Gandhi visited Pondicherry in 1934 and Jawaharlal Nehru in 1939.

With India becoming independent in August 1947, the citizens of French India hoisted the Indian national flag all over the French settlements. The Jaipur session of the Indian National Congress passed a resolution calling for a peaceful merger of Pondicherry with India. The Indo-French agreement of June 1948 was signed, and the French gave freedom to the French Indian population to choose their political status by a referendum. While Chandernagar merged with India on the basis of the referendum, Pondicherry could rejoin its sister city because of its different system and practice of elections. On 23 March 1954, the Nettapakkam and Madukarai areas joined India and a French India Liberation government was set up on 16 May 1954.

Following the understanding reached between the Governments of India and France, the question of the merger of Pondicherry with the Indian Union was referred to the elected representatives of the people for decision in a secret ballot on 18 October 1954; 170 out of 178 elected representatives favored the merger. The de facto transfer of power took place on 1 November 1954; the de jure transfer on 16 August 1962.

French influence

Pondicherry still retains much evidence of its history as a French colony. The design of the city was based on the French (originally Dutch, the plans of Pondicherry dating from the end of the seventeenth century (1693-1694) are preserved in the National Archives at The Hague) grid pattern and features neat sectors and perpendicular streets. The entire town is divided into two sections, the French Quarter ('Ville Blanche' or 'White town') and the Indian quarter ('Ville Noire' or 'Black Town'). The history of French India is led by Joseph Francois Dupleix, governor general of the French establishment in India, and rival of Robert Clive. Dupleix was primarily responsible for the Carnatic Wars. At first Dupleix was successful in resisting the attacks of the English East India Company, but he lost in the later battles.

There is also French influence in the layout of the city. The numbering of the houses is unique compared to other cities in Tamil Nadu, in that all with the even numbers are on one side and the odd number are on the opposite side of the road.

Official languages of government

The official languages of Pondicherry are Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and French.
The status of each language varies with respect to each district. When communicating between districts of different languages, generally English is used for convenience.

1.Tamil: Language used by the people in the Tamil majority districts of Pondicherry and Karikal. Also the official language in neighbouring Tamil Nadu state.

2. Telugu: Another official language of Pondicherry, but used more within Yanam (Telugu region). So, more correctly, it is considered a regional official language of Pondicherry while being the official language of Yanam region. It also has an official language status in the state of Andhra Pradesh. And is spoken widely in Pondicherry and Karaikal also.

3. Malayalam: Another official language of Pondicherry, but used more within Mahé (Malayalam region). So, more correctly, it is considered a regional official language of Pondicherry while being the official language of Mahé region. It also has an official language status in Kerala State and Lakshadweep Islands Union Territory.

4. French: Also the official language of Pondicherry Union Territory. It was the official language of French India (1673-1954) and its official language status was preserved by the Traité de Cession signed by India and France on 28 May 1956.

French remained as the de jure official language of Pondicherry U.T by the Article XXVIII of Traité de Cession which states that:

Languages spoken

As of 1981, number of people speaking in each official languages are,

• Tamil: 89.18 % (868,461)www.education.nic.in/cd50years/g/t/V/0T0V0D01.htm

• Other Languages (Including Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and French) : 10.82 %

Tourism

Puducherry is one of the most popular tourist destinations in South India. The city has many colonial buildings, churches, temples, and statues, which, combined with the systematic town planning and the well planned French style avenues, still preserve much of the colonial ambience.

The most popular tourist destinatins are the four beaches in Puducherry, which are Promenade Beach, Paradise Beach, The Auroville Beach and Serinity Beach. Sri Aurobindo Ashram located on rue de la Marine, is one of the most well known and wealthiest ashrams in India. Auroville (City of Dawn) is an "experimental" township located 8 km North-West of Puducherry. Auroville is meant 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.

There are a number of eighteenth and nineteenth century churches in Puducherry as well as a number of heritage buildings and monuments are present around the Promenade beach such as the Children’s Park & Dupleix Statue, Gandhi statue, Nehru Statue, Le Café, French War Memorial, 19th Century Light House, Bharathi Park, Governers Palace, French War Memorial, Romain Rolland Library, Legislative Assembly, Puducherry Museum, and the French Institute of Pondicherry at Saint-Louis Street.

Government and administration

Sub-divisions

Puducherry is divided into two districts and each district is divided into sub divisions, taluks and sub-taluks:
1.Puducherry district(Pondicherry)
Puducherry – North – Sub-Division ( 1.Puducherry Region )

• Puducherry taluk

• Ozhukarai taluk (Oulgaret)

Puducherry – South- Sub-Division (1. Puducherry Region )

• Villianur taluk

• Bahour taluk

Yanam Sub-Division (4.Yanam Region )

• Yanam sub-taluk

Mahé Sub-Division (3. Mahé Region )

• Mahé sub taluk

2.Karaikal district (2.Karaikal Region )

• Karaikal taluk

• Thirunallar taluk

Special administration status

According to the 1956 Traité de cession, the four former French colonies were assured of maintaining their special administrative status. That is why Puducherry is the only Union Territory with some special provisions like Legislative Assembly, French as official language, etc. Article II of Traité de Cession states:

Economy

Macro-economic trend

This is a chart of trend of gross state domestic product of Puducherry at market prices by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation with figures in millions of Indian Rupees.

Puducherry's gross state domestic product for 2004 is estimated at $2 billion in current prices. The potential for fisheries is substantial in the Union Territory. The four regions of the Union Territory have a coastline of with of inshore waters, 1.347 ha of inland water and 800 ha of brackish water. There are 27 marine fishing villages and 23 inland fishing villages with fishermen population of about 65,000 of which 13,000 are actively engaged in fishing. Irrigation tanks and ponds are also tapped for commercial fish rearing.
The Railways play a vital role for speedy economic growth. The entire cost towards execution of the new broad gauge line for from Karaikal to Nagore would now be funded by the Ministry of Railways and work has already been awarded on turn key basis for laying the new railway line in a period of 18 months.
The present availability of power is about 400 MW. The demand is likely to increase with the
development of Port, Special Economic Zone, other industrial development, trade, commerce etc.It has been decided to expand the Puducherry Airport so that air services could improve gradually over years, to land ATR to Boeing aircraft, to meet the growing demand for air travel. A MoU has already
been signed with Airports Authority of India for expansion of Puducherry Airport in two phases.

Important personalities

• Joseph François Dupleix -French Governor General (Robert clive of the French India)

• Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau -French Governor General

• Maire de Yanaon Samatam Kistaya -Pro-French Telungu poet & the last don Coup d'État de Yanaon

• Edouard Goubert -First Chief minister of free Pondicherry

• Ananda Ranga Pillai, French Indian leader dubash'

• Subramanya Bharathi -Tamil freedom fighter and poet(Maha kavi Barathiyar)

• Bharathidasan -Tamil poet and social activist, follower of Bharathiyar

• Sri Aurobindo -British India freedom fighter and religious reformer

• M. Night Shyamalan -Hollywood movies producer, Padma Shri awardee

• V. Venkatasubha Reddiar -ExCM and f/o Vaithilingam(CM)

• M. O. H. Farook

• V. Vaithilingam

• R. V. Janakiraman, N. Rangaswamy

Puducherry in literature

• Ananda Ranga Pillai (1709-1761), a dubash and famous writer.

• Puducherry (then Pondicherry) was the setting for the first third of the Booker prize-winning novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel.

• Lee Langley's novel A house in Pondicherry was likewise set there.

• In Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Prince Pondicherry has Willy Wonka build him a castle made entirely of chocolate, which quickly melts.

• In the Sherlock Holmes adventure, The Sign of Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the family of a murder victim resides at Pondicherry Lodge. In the adventure of The Five Orange Pips'' a frightening letter is postmarked from Pondicherry, India seven weeks before the death of Colonel Openshaw.

• Some Novels of M. Mukundan, Mahe former employee of French Embassy and famous Malayalam Writer.

• Mr.R.Manavazhagan, Well known Management Consultant and Faculty

• Master Ashwath,A*Star Research Attachment Scholar, Temasek Secondary School , Singapore.

See also

• Road Network in Puducherry District

• Causes for Liberation of French colonies in India

• Municipal Administration in French India

• List of Chief Ministers of Pondicherry

• Puducherry (Lok Sabha constituency)

• French East India Company

• Auroville

• North Malabar for Mahe

• Northern Province, Sri Lanka

• Karaikal

• PAJANCOA & RI