Puducherry (union territory)
Puducherry | ||
---|---|---|
Formation 1 July 1963[2] | | |
Capital and largest city | Pondicherry | |
Districts | 4 | |
Government | ||
• Body | Government of Puducherry | |
• Lieutenant governor | C. P. Radhakrishnan | |
• Chief minister | N. Rangaswamy (AINRC) | |
• Chief secretary | Ashwani Kumar, IAS | |
Legislature | Unicameral | |
• Assembly | Puducherry Legislative Assembly[3] (33 seats) | |
National Parliament | Parliament of India | |
• Rajya Sabha | 1 seat | |
• Lok Sabha | 1 seat | |
High Court | Madras High Court | |
Area | ||
• Total | 483 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 (
The Union Territory of Puducherry lies in the
Name
The name Puducherry is a compound of the Tamil words putu and cēri meaning "new slum"; its old name Pondicherry is a
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]
- Telugu: పుదుచ్చేరి కేంద్రపాలిత ప్రాంతము, romanized: Puduccēri Kēndrapālita Prāntamu[13]
- romanized: Puduccēri Kēndrabharaṇapradēśam[14]
History
The earliest recorded history of the
In 1674, the municipality of Pondicherry (Pondichéry) became a colony in the
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
The Union Territory of Puducherry consists of
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
Districts
- Puducherry district is an enclave of Tamil Nadu.
- Karaikal district is an enclave of Tamil Nadu.
- Mahé district is an enclave of Kerala.
- Yanam district is an enclave of Andhra Pradesh.
Demographics
Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
---|---|---|
1901 | 246,354 | — |
1911 | 257,179 | +0.43% |
1921 | 244,156 | −0.52% |
1931 | 258,628 | +0.58% |
1941 | 285,011 | +0.98% |
1951 | 317,253 | +1.08% |
1961 | 369,079 | +1.52% |
1971 | 471,707 | +2.48% |
1981 | 604,471 | +2.51% |
1991 | 807,785 | +2.94% |
2001 | 974,345 | +1.89% |
2011 | 1,247,953 | +2.51% |
2021 | 1,691,969 | +3.09% |
source:[22] |
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
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
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
The most widely spoken first language is
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
Judiciary
The jurisdiction of the Madras High Court has been extended to Pondicherry with effect from 6 November 1962.[note 1] The
Economy
The gross domestic product of Puducherry, at market prices estimated by 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
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.
-
Aayi Mandapam (monument)
-
Puducherry Coast view
-
Mahe riverside
-
A camel on the beach in Puducherry, India
-
Karaikal church
-
Immaculate Conception Cathedral
-
Downtown Karaikal
-
Karaikal Periyapalli
-
Karaikal Beach
Transportation
Rail
Puducherry is connected by a railway branch line from the five-way junction at
Meanwhile
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
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 |
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
According to the 2011 census, Puducherry had a literacy rate of 86.55.
In popular culture
- Puducherry was the setting for Yann Martel's first third of his Booker Prize-winning novel Life of Pi (2001). A portion of the subsequent film adaptation was filmed there.[43]
- Lee Langley's novel A House in Pondicherry (1996) was set there.
- Prince Pondicherry is an Indian character from Roald Dahl's children's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964). The prince orders Willy Wonka to build a palace of chocolate in India; the palace melts in the hot sun.
See also
- Puducherry (Lok Sabha constituency)
- Puducherry Legislative Assembly
- Chandannagar
- French East India Company
- French colonial empire
- Municipal Administration in French India
References
- ^ Pondicherry (Administration) Act of 1962
- ^ "Agreement on De Facto Transfer of French Establishments". Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. 21 October 1954. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
- ^ "Indian Affairs Record (Vol. I and II)". Diwan Chand Indian Information Center. 1955. p. 20.
- ^ "PUDUCHERRY LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY". Archived from the original on 3 November 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
- ^ a b c "The Pondicherry Official Languages Act, 1965" (PDF). lawsofindia.org. Laws of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
- ^ Puducherry Code Volume-I (PDF). Law Department, Government of Puducherry. p. 107.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Parvathi, Ko (1 December 2018). "கருவூலம்: பாண்டிச்சே-யூனியன் பிரதேசம்". தினமணி (Dinamani) (in Tamil). Retrieved 21 April 2023.
- ^ Ambadipudi Syamsundara Rao (2020). "దక్షిణ భారతము గురించి కొన్ని విశేషాలు". www.acchamgatelugu.com (in Telugu). Retrieved 24 August 2022.
- ^ Dinesan, P. (4 February 2021). "പുതുച്ചേരിയിൽ സംഭവിക്കുന്നത്". ദേശാഭിമാനി (Dēśābhimani) (in Malayalam). Retrieved 21 April 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ISBN 978-0-548-20943-1. Archivedfrom the original on 17 May 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
- ^ ISBN 978-8177648713.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "68th De Facto Merger Day of Puducherry to Be Celebrated on November 1". News18. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
- ^ "Puducherry to celebrate 'Formation Day' on Nov 1". The Hindu. 1 November 2010. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "November 1 is Liberation Day". The Hindu. 30 August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
- ^ Decadal Variation In Population Since 1901
- ^ "Population by religion community – 2011". Census of India, 2011. The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 25 August 2015.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Will Pondy's attempt to get statehood succeed?". The New Indian Express. 26 July 2018.
- ^ ISBN 979-1036549892.
- ^ 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.
- ^ https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/10218
- ^ "La Gazette de L'État de Poudouchéry The Gazette of Puducherry" (PDF). www.gstcouncil.gov.in. 25 January 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
- ^ "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) - ^ "Justice S V Gangapurwala appointed as Acting Chief Justice of Bombay High Court". The Indian Express. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ "Economy of Puducherry - StatisticsTimes.com". statisticstimes.com.
- ^ "Union Territory of Puducherry". South Asia Program at Hudson Institute. Archived from the original on 3 August 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- List of Indian states by GDP
- ^ 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.
- ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ "Puducherry airport becomes AAI's first 100% solar-powered airport - Times of India". The Times of India. 3 October 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ "India's Largest Private Port to Handle large Vessels and Diverse Cargo Mix". karaikalport.com. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Pondicherry University". Pondicherry University. Archived from the original on 25 April 2011.
- ^ "Welcome to the Website of PKIET". Pkiet.edu.in. Archived from the original on 17 February 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
- ^ "Filming Locations". IMDb. Archived from the original on 1 December 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
External links
- Official website of the Government of the Union Territory of Puducherry
- Treaty establishing De Jure Cession of French Establishments in India
- Official website of Department of Tourism, Pondicherry Archived 15 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine
- Official website of Pondicherry Media, Pondicherry
- Puducherry (union territory) travel guide from Wikivoyage