Explain the following statement with reasons: Pondicherry was declared as a Union Territory.

Answer: Because after the French handed over their settlements, Pondicherry needed to be governed directly by the Centre while keeping its separate identity.

• Pondicherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam were French settlements scattered in different parts of India.
• The people of these settlements demanded merger with India. The French gave them to India in 1954 (de facto transfer) and the treaty of cession was ratified in 1962.
• The four areas were far from one another and had their own French cultural and administrative traditions, so they could not easily be merged into neighbouring states.
• Therefore, in 1962–63 they were together declared the Union Territory of Pondicherry, governed by the Central Government.