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in a tertiary care centre at Puducherry S Abarna Devi, TP... e-ijd.org |
This article is about the Union Territory. For its capital city of the same name, see Puducherry (city).
[edit] GeographyPondicherry 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 293 km2 (113 sq mi), Karaikal 160 km2 (62 sq mi), Mahé 9 km2 (3.5 sq mi) and Yanam 30 km2 (12 sq mi). It has 900,000 inhabitants (2001). [edit] HistoryMain article: History of Puducherry  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. 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[2]. 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. 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. [edit] French influencePondicherry 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.
[edit] 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[citation needed]. Tamil: Language used by the people in the Tamil majority districts of Pondicherry and Karikal. Also the official language in neighbouring Tamil Nadu state. 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. 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. 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:
[edit] Languages spoken
As of 1981, number of people speaking in each official languages are, [edit] TourismMain article: Tourism in Puducherry Puducherry is one of the most popular tourist destinations in South India.[citation needed] 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[5]. 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[6]. 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. [edit] Government and administrationMain articles: Puducherry Legislative Assembly, Municipalities of Puducherry, and Puducherry Municipal Council [edit] Sub-divisionsPuducherry is divided into two districts and each district is divided into sub divisions, taluks and sub-taluks:
[edit] Special administration statusAccording 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:
[edit] Economy[edit] Macro-economic trendThis is a chart of trend of gross state domestic product of Puducherry at market prices estimated 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 45 km (28 mi) with 675 km2 (261 sq mi) 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 10.7 km (6.6 mi) 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.  [edit] Important personalities
[edit] Puducherry in literature
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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