Pondicherry

A city of southeast India on the Bay of Bengal south-southwest of Chennai (Madras). It consists of four former French coastal settlements whose administration was transferred to India in 1954. Population: 233,000.

Pondicherry or Pondichéry , union territory (2001 provisional pop. 973,829), 183 sq mi (474 sq km) of India. It comprises the noncontiguous enclaves of former French India: Pondicherry (formerly Pondichéry) and Karaikal (formerly Karikal) on the Coromandel Coast in Tamil Nadu state, Yanam (formerly Yanaon) in Andhra Pradesh state, and Mahe (formerly Mahé); on the Malabar Coast of Kerala state. The capital of the territory is Pondicherry town (1991 pop. 401,437) in the Pondicherry enclave.

The four enclaves and Chandannagar, a town near Calcutta, were remnants of French imperial ambition in India in the 17th and 18th cent. In 1949, Chandannagar was incorporated into West Bengal state. Under an agreement with France, India took over administration of the four enclaves on Nov. 1, 1954; a treaty ceding the settlements to India was signed in May, 1956, but it was not until Aug., 1962, that the formal transfer occurred. Despite some agitation to merge the enclaves with the states surrounding them, the territory remains under the administration of the central government of India. The enclaves on the Indian Ocean suffered destruction and loss of life from the Dec., 2004, tsunami.

Government & Administration

Pondicherry is a Union Territory, not a separate State. A Union Territory (UT) has its own government but falls directly under the Central

Government in New Delhi. Though a UT also has an elected Chief Minister and cabinet members, laws and legislative regulations made in these areas must get sanction or be ratified by the Central Government (Centre). The Centre is represented by the Lt. Governor, who resides at the Raj Nivas at the Park, the former palace of the French Governor.

The Centre is also responsible for the financial well-being of these Union Territories, whereas the states get more or less a fixed amount and need to balance their budget by their own revenue and income. Hence, taxes in the UTs are usually lower than in the states.

Media

Pondicherry was the location for the first third of the Booker prize-winning novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel