PUDUCHERRY (Pondicherry), PUDUCHERRY

Main Attraction: AAYI MANDAPAM

Aayi Mandapam, a monument built to commemorate the introduction of a reliable water supply system to the citizens of Puducherry. Constructed during the reign of Napoleon III, the structure is modeled on the lines of the Doric Temples of Athens. A replica of this monument is the official emblem of the Puducherry Municipality.

There is an interesting legend behind the construction of this monument. Aayi was a courtesan (devadasi) who lived in a dazzling mansion in Muthirapalayam village. Once Krishnadevaraya, the ruler of Vijayanagar along with his Minister Appaji was passing through the village. Mistaking Aayi’s mansion for a temple he offered his obeisance. Later on, coming to know that the mansion was that of a courtesan, the enraged King ordered to raze it to the ground. Aayi begged forgiveness from the King and offered to dig a well at the spot. The well yielded sweet water in copious quantity. The well came to be called the ‘Aayi Kulam’ or Aayi’s tank. During the French rule, water pipes were laid from this well and it became one of the main sources of drinking water for the inhabitants of Puducherry town. The monument was later built at the spot to commemorate the occasion.

Brief History

‘Puducherry’ is the French interpretation of the original name ‘Puducherry’ meaning ‘new settlements’. By 18th century this tiny fishing village had turned into a grand port city. The known history of Puducherry dates back to the beginning of our era. Puducherry had a flourishing maritime history. Excavation at Arikamedu, which is situated about 7kms to the south of the Puducherry town, shows that Romans came here to trade in the 1st Century AD.

‘The Periplus of the Erythrean Sea’ written in the first century A.D. and the Second century ‘Geography of Ptolemy’ mention ‘Poduke’ as a port town of the coromandal coast. The identification of a Roman Trading centre in Arikamedu in the immediate vicinity of Puducherry adds weight to the equation of ‘Poduke’ with Puducherry. This ‘Poduke’ was later known in the name of ‘Puduvai’. According to tradition, the town was once upon a time an abode of scholars well versed in the vedas and hence came to be known as Vedapuri. Interestingly, during the days of Ottakoothar and Kambar in the 11th and 12th centuries, Puducheri is said to have been known in its shortened form as ‘Puthuvai’. The Hindus called the town Puthuvai or Puthucceri while musalmans called it Pulcheri.

The ‘Bahour Plates’, issued in the 8th century speak of a Sanskrit University which was here from an earlier period. Legend has it that the sage Agastya established his Ashram here and the place was known as Agastiswaram. An inscription found near the Vedhapurishwara Temple hints at the credibility of this legend.

History continues at the beginning of the fourth century A.D when the Puducherry area was a part of the Pallava Kingdom of Kanchipuram. During the next centuries Puducherry was occupied by different dynasties of the south.

The Cholas of Tanjavur took over only to be replaced by the Pandya Kingdom in the 13th century. After a brief invasion by the Muslim rulers of the North, who established the Sultanate of Madurai, the Vijayanagar Empire took over the control of almost all the South of India. The name Puducherry was changed as ‘Puducheira’ during the period of the Portugese and again the Danish converted it into ‘Polesere’. Later, the Dutch called it ‘Pollochire’. Finally the French merchants of St. Malo transformed ‘Pouducheri’ into ‘Pondicheri’. Later on it got changed into Pondicherry. Pondicherry has been renamed as Puducherry w.e.f 1st October 2006.

Puducherry was under Vijayanagar empire during 14th and 15th centuries. Then it passed on to the hands of Naiks of Thanjavur in the beginning of 16th Century and then came under the rule of Bijapur Sultan. By mid 16th century A.D. the Portugese and the Danish used the place as a trading centre. The first Frenchman set his foot in Puducherry on 4th February, 1673 and till 1690. The French were interested mainly in trade and commerce activities. In a war between the French and the Dutch, the former were defeated and the Puducherry came under Dutch rule between 1693 and 1699. In September 1699, the French became the legal owners of the Puducherry town on payment of 16,000 pagodas to the Dutch. The Nawab Dawood Khan, representative of Aurangzeb donated Kalapet village in 1703 to Francois Martin for getting supply of timber from the forests surrounding it for construction of houses. 

In 1706 he had further ceded 5 more villages viz., Ozhukarai, Murungapakkam, Olandai, Pakkamudaiyanpet and Karuvadikuppam to the French. In 1701 the French government at Paris recognised the importance of Puducherry town and established a sovereign counsel to aid and advise them in the administration of the colony. Francois Martin was the virtual builder of Puducherry town in a span of 33 years of his administration here. In 1740, Puducherry provided asylum to the royal refugees of the ruler of the Karnatic when Marattas invaded him. Consequently, the Marattas attacked the French for this gesture but got defeated. In gratification of the gesture, the survivors of the Karnatic dynasty gifted Ariankuppam, Theduvanatham and Villianur to the French.

Dupleix became Governor of French possessions in India on 15th January 1742 and brought Madras also under French control in September 1746. Madras was under French regime for 30 years from then. The attack of Puducherry by the Britishers in 1748 failed. Dupleix’s help to Chanda Sahib and Musafer Jung in 1750 added Villianur and 36 village group of Bahour to the French rule. This was a peak period for French regime in India and thereafter there was a decline in their sovereignty. There was internal disturbance in Puducherry and the British utilised this opportunity in August 1793 to gain Puducherry under their control and it was administered as part of Madras till 1815. However, the British restored the possession of the settlements which the French possessed on 1st January 1792 back to the French in 1816 consequent upon the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1814 under certain terms and conditions which devoted mainly the question of maintenance of troops by the French. Since then the French ruled continuously till 31st October 1954.

Puducherry helped in the freedom movement in British India since 1910. Sri Aurobindo Ghosh of Bengal came to Puducherry in 1910 followed by patriots like Poet Subramania Bharathi and others. In 1918 the Government of British India demanded the extradition of Sri Aurobindo Ghosh and other freedom fighters of India but this was not agreed to by the French Government. In 1946 All French Indian Congress was organised. On India becoming independent in August, 1947, the citizens of French India hoisted Indian National Flag all over the settlements. The Jaipur session of Indian National Congress passed a resolution for peaceful and dignified merger of Puducherry with mother-India. The Indo-French agreement of June 1948 was signed and the French gave freedom to the French Indian Population to choose their political status by a referendum. Puducherry could not enjoy that facility because of different system and practice of elections. On 23rd March, 1954 Nettapakkam and Madukarai areas were liberated and a French-India Liberation Government was set up on 16th May 1954.

As per the understanding reached between the Governments of India and France, the question of merger of Puducherry with Indian Union was referred to the elected representatives of the people for decision and in a secret ballot on 18th October, 1954. As many as 170 out of 178 elected representatives favoured the merger. Thus the de facto-transfer of power took place on 1st November 1954 and de jure-transfer on 16th August 1962.