Puducherry (union territory)

Coordinates: 11°54′40″N 79°48′45″E / 11.911082°N 79.812533°E / 11.911082; 79.812533
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Puducherry
Union Territory
Top to bottom:
Promenade Beach, Pondicherry harbour, Beach in Pondicherry
Formation
1 July 1963[2]
Capital
and largest city		Pondicherry
Districts4
Government
 • BodyGovernment of Puducherry
 • Lieutenant governorC. P. Radhakrishnan
 • Chief ministerN. Rangaswamy (AINRC)
 • Chief secretaryAshwani Kumar, IAS
LegislatureUnicameral
 • AssemblyPuducherry Legislative Assembly[3] (33 seats)
National ParliamentParliament of India
 • Rajya Sabha1 seat
 • Lok Sabha1 seat
High CourtMadras High Court
Area
 • Total483 km2 (186 sq mi)
 • Rank
Bael fruit tree[7]
List of union territory symbols
Territories of French India were completely transferred to the Republic of India de facto.

Puducherry (

Mahé and Yanaon (now Yanam), excluding Chandannagar (Chandernagore), and it is named after the largest district, Puducherry, which was also the capital of French India. Historically known as Pondicherry (Pāṇṭiccēri), the territory changed its official name to Puducherry on 1 October 2006.[8][9]

The Union Territory of Puducherry lies in the

25th in India.[10]

Name

The name Puducherry is a compound of the Tamil words putu and cēri meaning "new slum"; its old name Pondicherry is a

gallicised
version of Pāṇṭicēri meaning "slum of Pandis".

Puducherry has five official names, owing its linguistic diversity, past-French heritage and the legacy of British India.[11]

  • English: Union territory of Puducherry
  • French: Territoire de Pondichéry
  • Tamil: புதுச்சேரி ஒன்றியப் பகுதி, romanized: Putuccēri Onṟiyap Pakuti[12]
  • romanized: Puduccēri Kēndrapālita Prāntamu[13]
  • romanized: Puduccēri Kēndrabharaṇapradēśam[14]

History

Main article: History of Puducherry

The earliest recorded history of the

archaeological excavations between 1944 and 1949 showed that it was "a trading station to which goods of Roman manufacture were imported during the first half of the 1st century" Subsequent investigation by Vimala Begley from 1989 to 1992 modified this assessment, and now place the period of occupation from the third or second century BCE to the eighth century CE.[15][16]

French Indian Colonies in 1815

In 1674, the municipality of Pondicherry (Pondichéry) became a colony in the

Ministry of External Affairs of India.[17]: 37  The State of Pondicherry continued to be under the direct control of the Government of India under the aegis of the Ministry of External affairs until 31 August 1964. Meanwhile, with effect from 1 July 1963, the State of Pondicherry officially became the Union Territory of Pondicherry and after 31 August 1964 it came under the control of the Ministry of Home Affairs.[17]
: 37 

Until 2016, the de jure transfer day (i.e. 16 August) was a public holiday with no official celebrations taking place.[18][19] In 2016, Lt. Governor of Puducherry, Kiran Bedi, made it a holiday as "De Jure Transfer Day."

Since 2010, de facto transfer day (i.e. 1 November) has been celebrated as Liberation day throughout Puducherry.[20] In 2014, Liberation day was declared as a public Holiday. This initiative was taken shortly after the NDA government came to power in 2014 and newly appointed Lt. Governor A. K. Singh issued a notification regarding that decision of the central government.[21]

Geography

Map showing the districts of Puducherry
Further information: List of rivers of Puducherry

The Union Territory of Puducherry consists of

2011 Census
, is 1,394,467. Puducherry is the smallest union territory in terms of sea coastline with 30.6 km length.

Some of Puducherry's regions are themselves amalgamations of non-contiguous enclaves, often called "pockets" in India. The Puducherry region is made of 11 such pockets, some of which are very small and entirely surrounded by the territory of Tamil Nadu. Mahé region is made up of three pockets. This unusual geography is a legacy of the colonial period with Puducherry retaining the borders of former French India.

All four regions of Puducherry are located in the coastal region. Five rivers in

Mahé district and one in Yanam district
drain into the sea, but none originates within the territory.

Districts

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901246,354—    
1911257,179+0.43%
1921244,156−0.52%
1931258,628+0.58%
1941285,011+0.98%
1951317,253+1.08%
1961369,079+1.52%
1971471,707+2.48%
1981604,471+2.51%
1991807,785+2.94%
2001974,345+1.89%
20111,247,953+2.51%
20211,691,969+3.09%
source:[22]

Religion in Puducherry

  Hinduism (87.3%)
  Christianity (6.3%)
  Islam (6.1%)
  Others (0.4%)

According to the 2011 census, Hinduism is the major religion, adhered to by 87.3% of the population. Other religions practiced in the territory include Christianity (6.3%) and Islam (6.1%).[23]

Government and administration

Main articles: Puducherry Legislative Assembly and Pondicherry Municipal Council
See also:
List of Chief Ministers of Puducherry, and List of districts of Puducherry
Puducherry Assembly seats

Puducherry is a union territory of India rather than a state, which implies that governance and administration fall directly under federal authority. It is one of three union territories (with the National Capital Territory of Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir) entitled by a special constitutional amendment to an elected legislative assembly and cabinet of ministers, thereby conveying partial statehood.[24] There has been some interest by the territory's government in receiving full statehood, but budgetary issues remain a consideration. Also, Mahe and Yanam may oppose such a change of status.[25]

The central government is represented by the

indirect
category.

Special administration status

According to the Treaty of Cession of 1956, the four territories of former French India territorial administration are permitted to make laws with respect to specific matters. In many cases, such legislation may require ratification from the federal government or the assent of the President of India.

Article II of the Treaty states:

Ces établissements conserveront le bénéfice du statut administratif spécial en vigueur avant le 1er novembre 1954. Toute modification constitutionnelle à ce statut ne pourra intervenir, le cas échéant, qu’après consultation de la population.
(The Establishments will keep the benefit of the special administrative status which was in force prior to 1 November 1954. Any constitutional changes in this status which may be made subsequently shall be made after ascertaining the wishes of the people).

Languages

Main articles:
Names of Puducherry in its official languages

The most widely spoken first language is

Malayalam (in Mahe) and English. An official mention in Rajya Sabha Parliamentary debates during 2006 confirms that Puducherry has all these five languages as official.[27]

Distribution of languages in Union Territory of Puducherry (2011)[28]

  Tamil (88.22%)
  Telugu (5.96%)
  Malayalam (3.84%)
  Others (1.98%)

Continuation of French

Even after the de facto transfer of the French Indian settlements in November 1954, French continued to remain as the official language according to Article XXVIII of the Traité de Cession (Treaty of Cession) of 1956.

Article XXVIII of the Treaty states:

Le français restera langue officielle des Établissements aussi longtemps que les répresentants élus de la population n'auront pas pris une décision différente.
(The French language shall remain the official language of the Establishments so long as the elected representatives of the people shall not decide otherwise).

The 1963 Pondicherry representative assembly resolution also voted for continuance of French as official language and addition of other languages spoken in Puducherry such as Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam along with English and Hindi.[26]: 151–152 

Inclusion of other languages

Considering the 1956 Treaty of cession and 1963 Assembly resolution, the 1963 Union Territories Act reconfirmed the 1963 resolution that French shall continue to be used as an official language unless the legislative assembly decides otherwise. The 1963 act allowed provision for inclusion of more official languages. Two years later, new official languages were recognised by The Pondicherry Official Language Act, 1965 which makes no mention of French (but also not officially denying it) implying the implicit continuation of its official language status. The same act stated that the Tamil language shall be the language to be used for all or any of the official purposes of the Union territory and the same official recognition is given for English. The same act also recognized officially Malayalam and Telugu in the Mahé and Yanam districts respectively.[4]

The widespread

anti-Hindi agitations in the mid-1960s in South India would have prompted for inclusion of all the languages suggested in the 1963 assembly resolution except Hindi in the list of official languages of Puducherry. While the Union Territory official gazette's name is in French (La Gazette de L'État de Poudouchéry), it is published exclusively in English.[29]

Judiciary

The jurisdiction of the Madras High Court has been extended to Pondicherry with effect from 6 November 1962.[note 1] The

Chief Justice of the Madras High Court is the head of the judiciary of Puducherry. The present chief justice is S. V. Gangapurwala.[30][31]

Economy

The gross domestic product of Puducherry, at market prices estimated by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation with figures in millions of Indian rupees grew from 1,840 to 258,190 million rupees from 1980 to 2014.

Year Gross domestic product[clarification needed]
1980 1,840
1985 3,420
1990 6,030
1995 13,200
2000 37,810
2010 130,920
2014 258,190
better source needed
]

Fisheries

The potential for fisheries is substantial in the Union Territory. The four regions of the Union Territory have a coastline of 45 km with 675 of inshore waters, 1.347 hectares (3.33 acres) of inland water and 800 ha of brackish water. 27 marine fishing villages and 23 inland fishing villages host a fishermen population of about 65,000 of which 13,000 are actively engaged in fishing. Tanks and ponds are also tapped for commercial fish rearing.

Tourism

Main article: Tourism in Puducherry

Puducherry is one of the most popular tourist spots in India for national and international tourists. Puducherry was the residence of Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950) and the Sri Aurobindo Ashram still operates from Puducherry. A unique experimental city Auroville, the brainchild of the Mother, whose inhabitants are drawn from all parts of the world is situated on the outskirts of the city. There are several temples, churches, monuments, parks, and mosques which attract tourists.

Transportation

Rail

Puducherry railway station

Puducherry is connected by a railway branch line from the five-way junction at

broad gauge line with 16 originating trains and 17 terminating trains.[35]

Meanwhile

Mahe also well connected by railway lines. Several railway lines are also under construction in Karaikal district.[36] The nearest major railway station to Yanam is Kakinada
(CCT) in Andhra Pradesh (33 KM).

Air

Puducherry has an airport called Puducherry Airport. It has flight operations between Puducherry and Hyderabad.[37] A new airport is proposed in Karaikal which is called as Karaikal Airport.[38] The nearest airport to Yanam is Rajahmundry Airport (IATA: RJA, ICAO: VORY), 90 KM away.

Sea

Puducherry U.T. has several ports namely Karaikal port, Puducherry port, Mahe port. Among them, the largest port is Karaikal Port.[39]

Road

Main article:
Road Network in Puducherry District
Further information: Puducherry Road Transport Corporation

Puducherry has a network all-weather metalled roads connecting the territory. Puducherry has a road length of 2,552 km (road length per 4.87 km2), the highest in the country. PRTC buses play a vital role in Puducherry U.T.

Road length comparison with Tamil Nadu and India as a whole
Total road length (in Puducherry) 2,552 km
Road length per 1000 km2 Puducherry Tamil Nadu India
4,575 1,572 663
Classification of roads
Type of road Length (km)
National highways 64.450
State highways 49.304
District and other roads
274.628
Rural roads
248.434
Total length 636.816

Education

Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research
Main article: List of educational institutions in Puducherry

According to the 2011 census, Puducherry had a literacy rate of 86.55.

Pondicherry Engineering College, Mother Theresa Post Graduate and Research Institute of Health Sciences, Achariya College of Engineering Technology (ACET), Rajiv Gandhi College of Engineering and Technology, Rajiv Gandhi College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College & Research Institute, Sri Manakula Vinayagar Engineering College, RAAK college of Engineering and Technology, Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College Hospital, Sri Lakshmi Narayana College of Engineering, and Sri Venkateshwaraa Medical College Hospital and Research Centre
.

In popular culture

Tourism

Main article: Tourism in Puducherry

Pondicherry is the capital city of The Union Territory of Puducherry and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in South India. A French colony until 1954, this coastal town retains a number of colonial buildings, churches, statues, and systematic town planning, as well as urban architecture of the local Tamil style. For these reasons, the town has been dubbed "The Europe of India".

Tourism in karaikal

Thirunallar Temple

Main article: Tirunallar Dharbaranyeswarar Temple

Tirunallar Saniswaran Temple or Dharbaranyeswarar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Shiva, located in a village, Thirunallar of karaikal district of Union territory of Puducherry.

Tranquebar Danish Fort

Main article: Fort Dansborg
Main article:
Tranquebar near Karaikal. The Tranquebar has a Danish and Dutch
Style Architecture Buildings which can only be seen here in the entire world. Due to some rare historical events happened at Tranquebar, such kind of rare architecture marvels still remains here.

A restored colonial house in Tranquebar
Town Gate
Antique items on display at the museum inside Fort Dansborg
New Jerusalem Church, Tranquebar
Zion Church


Nagore Dargah

Main article: Nagore Dargah

The

Sufi saint Nagore Syed Abdul Qadir Shahul Hamid (1490–1579 CE).[44] It is located in Nagore, a coastal town in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu
. It is located near to Karaikal.

Velankanni Church

Main article: Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health

Called as Sanctuary of Our Lady of Velankanni is a famous christian shrine of India located in Velankanni. The shrine is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The devotion has existed since the mid-sixteenth century, and is attributed to three separate

Madonna and Child to a slumbering shepherd boy, the healing of a handicapped buttermilk vendor and the rescue of Portuguese sailors
from a deadly sea storm.

Initially, a modest chapel was built by the

Portuguese in Goa and Bombay, soon after they washed ashore safely in spite of a severe tempest. An annual novena
is celebrated and draws nearly 5 million pilgrims each year.

Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health

Tourism in Mahe

Mooppenkunnu (Hillock) The Mooppenkunnu is a Hillock. It is a Heritage picnic spot in Mahé district. There are pavements to walk, benches to rest and a restroom facility for the tourists. The hillock contains the historic Light House and is a famous sunset view point.[45]

Walkway

The walkway on the banks of Mahé River is a major tourist attraction. The walkway surrounds around the landscape of the Mahé town. The Walkway has park benches to relax and enjoy the beauty of Mahé River.[46]

Azhimukham Azhimukham is the estuary of

Mahé River and the Arabian Sea. There is a small Tagore Park situated here. Recently there has been a reconstruction which added a 2 km walkway along the bank of river from the estuary towards Mahé Bridge.[47]

See also

References

  1. ^ Pondicherry (Administration) Act of 1962
  1. ^ "Agreement on De Facto Transfer of French Establishments". Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. 21 October 1954. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  2. ^ "Indian Affairs Record (Vol. I and II)". Diwan Chand Indian Information Center. 1955. p. 20.
  3. ^ "PUDUCHERRY LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY". Archived from the original on 3 November 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  4. ^ a b c "The Pondicherry Official Languages Act, 1965" (PDF). Laws of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  5. ^ Puducherry Code Volume-I (PDF). Law Department, Government of Puducherry. p. 107.
  6. ^ "Handbook of Statistics on Indian States 2020. Social and Demographic Indicators. Table 5: State-wise Sex Ratio". Reserve Bank of India. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d "Tamil Nadu News : Puducherry comes out with list of State symbols". The Hindu. 21 April 2007. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  8. ^ "South Asia | New name for old French territory". BBC News. 20 September 2006. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  9. ^ "National : Bill to rename Pondicherry as Puducherry passed". The Hindu. 22 August 2006. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  10. ^ "State Domestic Product and other aggregates, 2004–05 series". Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. 27 February 2015. Archived from the original on 23 March 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  11. ^ India. Parliament. Rajya Sabha (2006). "Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, Volume 208, Issues 18-19". www.gstcouncil.gov.in. Council of States Secretariat. p. 263. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  12. ^ Parvathi, Ko (1 December 2018). "கருவூலம்: பாண்டிச்சே-யூனியன் பிரதேசம்". தினமணி (Dinamani) (in Tamil). Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  13. ^ Ambadipudi Syamsundara Rao (2020). "దక్షిణ భారతము గురించి కొన్ని విశేషాలు". www.acchamgatelugu.com (in Telugu). Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  14. ^ Dinesan, P. (4 February 2021). "പുതുച്ചേരിയിൽ സംഭവിക്കുന്നത്‌". ദേശാഭിമാനി (Dēśābhimani) (in Malayalam). Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  15. ^ Vimala Begley. "The Dating of Arikamedu and its Bearing on the Archaeology of Early Historical South India" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 January 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  16. ISBN 978-0-548-20943-1. Archived
    from the original on 17 May 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  17. ^
    ISBN 978-8177648713
    .
  18. ^ Mathew, Pheba (16 August 2016). "Liberated from France 55 years ago, Puducherry celebrated 'De Jure Day' for the first time ever". The News Minute. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  19. ^ "68th De Facto Merger Day of Puducherry to Be Celebrated on November 1". News18. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  20. ^ "Puducherry to celebrate 'Formation Day' on Nov 1". The Hindu. 1 November 2010. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  21. ^ "November 1 is Liberation Day". The Hindu. 30 August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  22. ^ Decadal Variation In Population Since 1901
  23. ^ "Population by religion community – 2011". Census of India, 2011. The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 25 August 2015.
  24. ^ "Lanka BBC Info Know Puducherry: Government Name Pondicherry As Puducherry". lankabbc.com. 29 June 2012. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  25. ^ "Will Pondy's attempt to get statehood succeed?". The New Indian Express. 26 July 2018.
  26. ^
    ISBN 979-1036549892
    .
  27. ^ India. Parliament. Rajya Sabha (2006). "Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, Volume 208, Issues 18–19". www.gstcouncil.gov.in. Council of States Secretariat. p. 263. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  28. ^ https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/10218
  29. ^ "La Gazette de L'État de Poudouchéry The Gazette of Puducherry" (PDF). www.gstcouncil.gov.in. 25 January 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  30. ^ "Justice Munishwar Math Bhandari takes oath as acting Chief Justice of Madras High Court" (PDF). DT Next. 22 May 2023. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  31. ^ "Justice S V Gangapurwala appointed as Acting Chief Justice of Bombay High Court". The Indian Express. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  32. ^ "Economy of Puducherry - StatisticsTimes.com". statisticstimes.com.
  33. ^ "Union Territory of Puducherry". South Asia Program at Hudson Institute. Archived from the original on 3 August 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  34. List of Indian states by GDP
  35. ^ karthik. "Pondicherry Station - 16 Train Departures SR/Southern Zone - Railway Enquiry". indiarailinfo.com. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  36. ISSN 0971-751X
    . Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  37. ^ "Puducherry airport becomes AAI's first 100% solar-powered airport - Times of India". The Times of India. 3 October 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  38. ISSN 0971-751X
    . Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  39. ^ "India's Largest Private Port to Handle large Vessels and Diverse Cargo Mix". karaikalport.com. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  40. ^ "Ranking of states and union territories by literacy rate: 2011" (PDF). Government of India. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  41. ^ "Pondicherry University". Pondicherry University. Archived from the original on 25 April 2011.
  42. ^ "Welcome to the Website of PKIET". Pkiet.edu.in. Archived from the original on 17 February 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  43. ^ "Filming Locations". IMDb. Archived from the original on 1 December 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
  44. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hunter was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  45. ^ "Hillock (Mooppenkunnu) | Mahe | India".
  46. ^ "Walkway | Mahe | India".
  47. ^ "Azhimukham | Mahe | India".

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Pondicherry (union territory).
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Puducherry (union territory).
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