Puducherry or Pondichéry, city in south-east India. A seaport on the Coromandel Coast, the city is the capital of the union territory of Puducherry (formerly Pondicherry). Besides shipping, the chief industry of the city is the manufacture of cotton textiles. It was the capital of former French India, though it was also held at times by the Dutch and British.

The French colonies in India were founded shortly after 1664. During the War of the League of Augsburg (1689-1697), Puducherry, acquired by France in 1674, was captured in 1693 by a Dutch force; it was restored to France in 1697 by the Peace of Ryswick. The British seized it three times during the 18th century, but, after periods of occupation ranging from 2 to 11 years, it was restored to France. Great Britain took the settlement again in 1803 and held it until 1814. France relinquished Puducherry in 1954, and it then came under the central administration of the republic of India. A formal treaty of cession was signed in 1956 by India and France. Puducherry was constituted a portion of the Indian state of Madras, now Tamil Nadu State. In 1962 it became part of the union territory of Puducherry. The Indian Ocean tsunami disaster of December 2004 claimed more than 100 lives in the city of Puducherry. The city was known as Pondicherry for more than 200 years but officially reverted to its original name, Puducherry, in September 2006. Population 973,829 (2001).