History of Puducherry
The City of Puducherry (French: La ville de Pondichéry) on the southeast coast of India does not have a recorded history from antiquity.
Nearby places such as Arikanmedu (Now Ariyankuppam), Kakayanthoppe, Villianur, and Bahur, which were annexed by the French East India Company over a period of time and became the Union Territory of Puducherry after Independence, have written histories that predate the colonial era.
Huntingford identified this as possibly being Arikamedu (now part of Ariyankuppam), located about 2 miles (3.2 km) from the modern city of Pondicherry.
In addition, 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 AD".
On 16 January 1761, the British captured Puducherry from the French, but the Treaty of Paris (1763) at the conclusion of the Seven Years' War returned it.
After an outstanding military career in Europe, Venant fought hard to destroy all revolutionary hopes in Pondicherry, as republican ideals coming from France were threatening the economic stability of the region.
From the time India gained its independence from British rule in 1947, it raised the issue of the French settlements on the continent with the Government of France.
Leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Bal Gangadhar Tilak visited Pondicherry and its other enclaves and addressed the meetings.
In 1934, Swami and friends, a monthly, was started by veteran independence activist and trade union leader R.K. Narayan for the cause of workers and the country.
The post-independence government under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was anxious to integrate the French Indian territories with the country.
[7][8] India signed an agreement with France in June 1948 which gave power to the people to determine the political status of their land.
The Indian Government continued to press for unification, pledging a distinct status and help for Puducherry after its merger with India.
As the unification movement gathered momentum under Subbiah, the pro-French leader Edouard Goubert switched his loyalty to the pro-merger camp.
A momentous event in the freedom movement of Puducherry occurred on 18 March 1954, when the members of the executive council and mayors of Pondicherry and seven adjoining communes proclaimed their decision to merge with India without a referendum.
When the Socialist Party was preparing to move the merger resolution, the French governor scuttled it by postponing the session.
Accordingly, the leaders of the Socialist Party hoisted the Indian national flag atop the Nettapakkam police station on the last day of March in 1954.
An independence activists' procession was charged by police using lathi and the flags carried by the processionists were seized and torn by the French Indian Police.Mr.
[9] India and France, following talks, issued a joint statement on 13 October 1954 announcing a procedure for deciding the status of the French settlements.
Five days later, on 18 October 1954 the elected members of the Representative Assembly and the municipal councillors of Pondicherry and Karaikkal took part in a referendum at Kizhur.
The new municipal assembly overwhelmingly voted for merger with the Indian Union but it took until 9 June 1952 before the Government of India took control.
