Answer: At independence France held Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe, Yanam and Chandranagar in India. India wanted them to merge peacefully, through negotiation.
(a) Puducherry (Pondicherry):
- The people of Puducherry carried on a movement for merger with India; the trade unionist leader V. Subbaiah and leaders like Edouard Goubert played an important role.
- India and France agreed to settle the issue by negotiation. In October 1954 the elected representatives of the French settlements, meeting at Kizhur, voted overwhelmingly for merger with India.
- Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam were handed over to India de facto on 1 November 1954. The treaty of cession was signed in 1956 and, after its ratification by the French parliament, the de jure transfer took place on 16 August 1962.
- Puducherry became a Union Territory of India.
(b) Chandranagar:
- Chandranagar (Chandernagore) near Kolkata was a French settlement on the Hugli river; its people too demanded merger with India.
- A referendum held in June 1949 showed that the vast majority of the people wanted to join India.
- France handed over the administration of Chandranagar to India on 2 May 1950; the treaty of cession was signed in 1951 and the legal (de jure) transfer took place on 9 June 1952. Under the Chandernagore Merger Act of 1954 it became a part of the state of West Bengal on 2 October 1955.
