Email this article Pondicherry as Part of the Republic of India: The Administrative and Territorial Issue
- Authors: Astashina E.O1
-
Affiliations:
- Lomonosov Moscow State University
- Issue: No 6 (2025)
- Pages: 45–51
- Section: Politics, economics
- URL: https://journals.rcsi.science/0321-5075/article/view/301745
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.31857/S0321507525060057
- ID: 301745
Cite item
Open Access
Access granted
Subscription Access
Abstract
In 1954, French possessions in South Asia became part of the Republic of India. This article examines aspects of the integration of 4 French enclaves (Pondicherry, Mahe, Yanaon and Karikal) under the umbrella toponym Pondicherry into India in the 1950–1960s, and analyzes the administrative and legal status of this territory within India. The agreement on the legal transfer of French territories to India was signed in 1954, followed by a respective treaty in 1956; the latter was ratified by both countries only in 1962. During the transition period (1954–1962), Pondicherry boasted of specific administrative rights in many ways similar to those of India’s states, but in 1962 it joined the federation as a union territory. This did not cater to the needs of the local political elite, so since the 1960s, Pondicherry’s politicians have been demanding statehood for the territory and have actively been exploiting the statehood issue in electoral campaigns.
About the authors
E. O Astashina
Lomonosov Moscow State University
Email: astashina.ek@yandex.ru
Post-graduate student, Department of South Asian History, Institute of Asian and African Studies Moscow, Russia
References
- Annoussamy D. 2005. L`intermède français en Inde. Secousses politiques et mutations juridiques. Pondichéry: Institut Français de Pondichéry, L’Harmattan.
- Annoussamy D. 2004. The Merger of the French India. Revue Historique de Pondichéry. Numéro Anniversaire (1954–2004). Vol. XXI. Pp. 13–29.
- Hussain Sh. 2024. The State-Subject Question in Kashmir. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.013.776
- Maiorano D. 2015. Autumn of the Matriarch: Indira Gandhi’s Final Term in Office. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pp. 85–152 (accessed 08.09.2024)
- Premashekhara L. 2017. Puducherry Politics: Politics in an Exceptional Union Territory. Ed. by Himanshu R., Singh M.P., Chouhan A.P.S. State Politics in India. Delhi: Primus Books. Pp. 644–663.
- Tendulkar Suresh D., Bhavani T.A. 2012. Understanding Reforms: Post-1991. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pp. 58–71.
- Асташина Е.О. 2024. Из французской колониальной империи – в Республику Индию: особенности интеграции Чандернагора и Пондишери (1950–1960-е годы). Вестник Московского университета. Серия 13. Востоковедение. № 1. С. 102–116. doi: 10.55959/MSU0320-8095-13-68-1-8
- Astashina E.O. 2024. From the French Colonial Empire to the Republic of India: Chandernagore and Pondicherry Integration Specifics (1950–1960s). Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Series 13. Oriental Studies. № 1. Pp. 102–116. (In Russ.). doi: 10.55959/MSU0320-8095-13-68-1-8
- Спектор И.Б. 2021. Будет ли Дели штатом? Трансформация власти в индийской столице. Труды Института востоковедения РАН. Вып. 32. Индийская Республика – 70: теория и практика конституционного развития. Москва: МИИ. С. 59–68. doi: 10.31696/2587-9502-2021-32-059-068
- Spector I.B. 2021. Will Delhi Be a State? The Transformation of Power in the Indian Capital. Proceedings of the Institute of Oriental Studies of RAS. Vol. 32. Indian Republic – 70: Theory and Practice of Constitutional Development. Moscow. Pp. 59–68. (In Russ.). doi: 10.31696/2587-9502-2021-32-059-068
Supplementary files
