Every year on 16 August, Legal Transfer Day is celebrated in Puducherry to mark the formal transfer of the former French settlements into the Indian Union. This transfer took place in 1962 after the treaty.
- On 16 August 2025, Legal Transfer Day was celebrated in Puducherry. This day symbolizes the formal transfer of the former French settlements of Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam into the Indian Union after the treaty in 1962.
- On 16 August 1962, the French government accepted the merger of Pondicherry and other French establishments through legal transfer.
- Until 2016, 16 August was declared a public holiday, but since 2016, it has been celebrated as “De Jure Transfer Day.”
- At the Keezhur Memorial, Puducherry Assembly Speaker R. Selvam hoisted the national flag and paid tribute. In this program, freedom fighters were honored.
- Before this, in 1954, a referendum was held in Keezhur, in which an overwhelming majority voted in favor of joining India.
Puducherry Foundation Day
- Every year 1 July is celebrated as the Foundation Day of Puducherry because on this very day the Union Territory Governance Act 1963 came into effect, under which Puducherry was given a Legislative Assembly and a Council of Ministers.
- The Puducherry and Karaikal regions are surrounded by the state of Tamil Nadu while Mahe is surrounded by the state of Kerala and Yanam by the state of Andhra Pradesh.
Colonial history:
- The foundation of modern Puducherry was laid in the year 1673 when the French East India Company successfully obtained a firman (a permit) from the Kiladar of Valikondapuram under the Sultan of Bijapur.
- In 1693, Puducherry was occupied by the Dutch but in 1699 it was returned to the French Company by the Treaty of Ryswick.
- In 1674, Francois Martin was appointed the first governor by the French East India Company, who started the ambitious project of transforming Pondicherry from a small fishing village into a prosperous port city.
- After becoming governor in 1674, Francois Martin developed it as an important place and a French stronghold in India.
- The Battle of Wandiwash (1760), which was the decisive battle of the Third Carnatic War, was won by the British and under the Treaty of Paris (1763) that followed the war, the French factories in India (including Puducherry) were returned to them.
- Under the Treaty of Paris (1763), Puducherry and Chandannagar were returned to France, but they could only carry out trade activities there.
After independence:
- On 1 November 1954, Puducherry became a Union Territory when the French-occupied areas in India were transferred to the Indian Union and 280 years of French rule came to an end.
- However, in 1963, after the French Parliament in Paris ratified the treaty with India, Puducherry officially became an integral part of India.
- Political status of Pondicherry:
- According to Article 239 of the Constitution of India and the Union Territory Government Act 1963, the President of India has framed the Allocation of Business Rules 1963 for the Government of Puducherry.
- Puducherry has an elected legislature and the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry is directed by the Union Territory Governance Act 1963.
- The Legislative Assembly can make laws on any issue under the Concurrent and State List.
- By the Pondicherry (Alteration of Name) Act 2006, the name of Pondicherry was changed to Puducherry.
Puducherry culture:
- Sri Aurobindo Ashram (a planned city with Franco-Tamil architecture) and Auroville (an experimental township) were an attempt to implement Sri Aurobindo’s vision of new forms of personal and collective life, paving the way for a bright future for the entire earth.
- Puducherry is an Indian Union Territory that provides a taste of France in India (due to its colonial history).
