Puducherry

Puducherry, union territory of India. It was formed in 1962 out of the four former colonies of French India: Pondicherry (now Puducherry) and Karaikal along India’s southeastern Coromandel Coast, surrounded by Tamil Nadu state; Yanam, farther north along the eastern coast in the delta region of the Godavari River, surrounded by Andhra Pradesh state; and Mahe, lying on the western Malabar Coast, surrounded by Kerala state. The territory’s capital is the city of Puducherry in the Puducherry sector, just north of Cuddalore.

The original name of the territory, Putucceri, is derived from the Tamil words putu (“new”) and ceri (“village”). The French corrupted this to Pondichéry (English: Pondicherry), by which it was called until its name was officially changed to Puducherry in 2006. Area 190 square miles (492 square km). Pop. (2011) 1,244,464.

Geography

All four areas of the territory are seaside tourist resorts. The city of Puducherry is divided into two parts by a canal, and all the main streets, running parallel to one another, lead to the open roadstead offshore. The port of Puducherry does not have a harbour, and ships are forced to lie about 1 to 2 miles (1.5 to 3 km) offshore, but its roadstead was once considered the best on the Coromandel Coast. There are a promenade, a landing place for cargo, and a pier. In and around the city are artesian wells that supply a large quantity of water for irrigation, the chief local crops being rice, sugarcane, cotton, and peanuts (groundnuts). The main industries are food processing and the manufacture of electrical appliances, textiles, paper, and lumber. The Puducherry area has about 300 villages and hamlets.

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The Karaikal sector, south of the Puducherry sector, is in the fertile Kaveri River delta, in one of the most important rice-producing areas of India. The exceptional fertility of the region is to some extent reflected in the unusually high density of its rural population. The town is on the Mayavaram-Peralam route, a branchline of the southern railway.

The Mahe sector consists of two parts: the quaint picturesque town of Mahe, with its buildings situated on the left bank of the Mahe River close to its mouth; and the isolated tract known as Naluthrara, on the right bank, comprising the four villages of Chambara, Chalakara, Palour, and Pandaquel. Rice is the chief crop grown in the sector.

Yanam is a small town on the bank of a branch of the Godavari River, about 400 miles (650 km) north of the city of Chennai (Madras), near Kakinada.

The major languages spoken in the areas are Tamil, Malayalam, and Telugu. Tamil is predominant in the southern settlements of Puducherry and Karaikal; Malayalam is predominant in Mahe; and Telugu is spoken mainly in Yanam. Other significant languages in the territory include Urdu, French, Kannada, Hindi, Gujarati, English, and Marathi.

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Hindus form the majority in all four regions; Muslims are an important minority in Karaikal, Mahe, and Yanam; and Christians are numerous in Puducherry. There are also a few Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains.

There are no heavy industries or mining in the union territory; it purchases its entire power requirement from nearby states. Puducherry is governed by a lieutenant governor who is advised by a chief minister and a Council of Ministers. The jurisdiction of the Madras High Court extends over the union territory.

Puducherry contains the Hindu ashram (religious retreat) of the philosopher Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950), as well as Auroville, the international township and study centre that was named for him. The Romain Rolland Public Library houses some rare French volumes. A medical college, a law college, an engineering college, and several other colleges for general education are affiliated with the University of Madras.

History

The French East India Company (formed by Jean-Baptiste Colbert in 1666) established a settlement in 1668 at Surat and another in 1674 at Pondicherry (now Puducherry). The company’s director, François Martin, made Pondicherry the capital of the French posts. Mahe was founded in 1725, followed by Yanam in 1731 and Karaikal in 1739. French concerns multiplied in Bengal, with Chandernagore (Chandannagar) as centre, especially after 1730 under the direction of Joseph-François Dupleix, who in 1742 was appointed general director.

From 1763 the French establishments in India, which were under the authority of the king after the abolition of the company in 1769, comprised—apart from a few small posts (loges)—no more than five settlements of moderate size: Chandernagore in Bengal, Yanam at the mouth of the Godavara River, Pondicherry and Karaikal on the Coromandel Coast, and Mahe on the Malabar Coast. The English conquest of India lessened the commercial activity of the French settlements. They were occupied by the English in 1778 and again in 1793, but in 1816 they were returned to France. The Second Republic of France granted them local government and representation in the French parliament. Under the Second Empire of France, commercial liberalism and Anglo-French understanding gave these settlements a fleeting moment of prosperity.

In 1947 the loges were given back to independent India. Chandernagore was finally transferred in 1951. De facto transfer of the four remaining French possessions to the Union of India took place on Nov. 1, 1954, and de jure transfer was completed on May 28, 1956. Instruments of ratification were signed on Aug. 16, 1962, from which date Pondicherry, consisting of the four enclaves, became a union territory. The territory formally took the name Puducherry in 2006.