Puducherry (union territory)

Puducherry (union territory), union territory, India, comprising the four former colonies of French India—on the eastern, or Coromandel coast, the enclaves of Puducherry (formerly Pondicherry) and Karaikal in Tamil Nadu state, and Yanam in Andhra Pradesh state; and on the south-west coast, the enclave of Mahe in Kerala state. The union territory has a combined area of around 491 sq km (191 sq mi). The district of Puducherry (292 sq km/113 sq mi) accounts for almost 60 per cent of this total. Karaikal has an area of 160 sq km (62 sq mi); Yanam, 30 sq km (12 sq mi); and Mahe, 9 sq km (3.5 sq mi).

The total population of the union territory of Puducherry was 973,829 in 2001, with an average population density of 2,029 people per sq km (5,255 per sq mi). Puducherry is the most populous district, with 505,715 (2001) inhabitants; followed by Karaikal (population, 1991, 145,723); and Mahe (1991, 33,425); and Yanam (1991). Tamil is the predominant language in Puducherry and Karaikal, Malayalam in Mahe, and Telugu in Yanam. The majority of the territory’s population are Hindus, but there are important Muslim (in Karaikal, Yanam, and Mahe) and Christian (in Puducherry) minorities. About 40 per cent of the population works in agriculture. Rice is the main food crop; cash crops include cotton, sugar cane, and peanuts. The territory contains a number of large and medium-sized factories producing a variety of goods, including textiles, sugar, cotton yarn, vehicle parts, soap, paper, plastics, and washing machines. There are also more than 6,000 small industrial units.

Puducherry was established by the French East India Company in 1674, Mahe in 1725, Yanam in 1731, and Karaikal in 1739. They were transferred to French government authority in 1769, and apart from English occupation in 1788 and between 1793 and 1816, they remained French colonies until November 1, 1954, when their administration was transferred to India. The transfer was formalized by a Treaty of Cession that was signed on May 28, 1956, and ratified on August 16, 1962. On that date, under the 14th Amendment to the constitution, the four territories were administratively united as the union territory of Puducherry. Puducherry was badly affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster of December 2004. Estimates suggested that around 600 people died, with more than 30,000 people made homeless. For more than 200 years, the city was known as Pondicherry, until its original name—Puducherry—was officially restored in September 2006.

A lieutenant-governor, appointed by the head of state, governs the territory in conjunction with a council of ministers responsible to the 30-member legislative assembly.