Causes of the integration of the French establishments of India to the Indian Union

Many factors political, cultural, socio-economic and geographical contributed to the fastening of the French Établissements of India (the French India) to the Indian Union between 1954 ( De facto ) and 1963 ( Of swears ).

Economic and cultural differences

Indeed the French could not, because of political divergences and cultural in particular, to preserve the following colonies in India:

Pondichéry : the city is located in the southernmost part of the province of Madras (today: Tamil Nadu). The language which is spoken there is the Tamoul. At the time, the Tamouls occupied of many stations in the administration of the province of Madras but also of the central government of the Indian Union. And they had an undeniable influence on the inhabitants of Pondichéry who shared the same culture and lifestyle that Tamouls of British India (then independent) close. However, in Pondichéry, Indian nationalism and francophilia coexisted.

Chandernagor : it is in the State of the Bengal-Westerner. The Culture and art of living are typical there of the Bengali people . The section Bengali of the Parti the Congress (National Indian Congress) had an undeniable influence on Chandernagor. Bengal having been one of the cradles of Indian nationalism, the prevalent feelings were anti-French and nationalist Indian.

Karikal : the city is to 132 km in the south of Pondichéry in the province of Madras (Tamil Nadu) and was entirely in the sphere of influence of Pondichéry. The culture and the lifestyle were those of Tamouls there and they is only French colonies not to have not a great cultural or linguistic difference with Pondichéry. The political changes with Pondichéry, and in the province of Madras, thus had an influence on Karikal too.

Mahé : it is localized on the coast of Malabar (Mer of Oman) in the province of Kerala. The language practiced there is the Malayalam. The culture and the lifestyle of the inhabitants are there those of the people of the Kerala. The members “keralite” of the party of the Congress had an influence on the political life of Mahé and the nationalist feeling is rather strongly established there, but Mahé was not in the sphere of influence of Pondichéry.

Yanaon : it is on the coast of Godavari, in the septentrional part of the province of Madras. The language is the Télougou there but the French language was very present there too. The habits and the lifestyle of the télougou are comparable with those of the other people of the Andhra Pradesh. The policy of the State of Andhra (Andhra State) did not have impact on francophile Yanaon. Indeed, the general atmosphere with Yanaon was very definitely francophile, and it was besides the French colony in India to count more the high level of partisans of the French presence among the indigenous population. Yanaon was largely out of the sphere of influence of Pondichéry.

Decolonization

The Décolonisation is a world phenomenon which knew its Apogée between the the Forties and the the Sixties of the 20th century. Many a colony S then planned to release from the colonial empires and to gain to them Indépendance, and the Nationalisme and the Socialisme played a very important part in this awakening and the movements of independence which were its result.

Before the independence of India (1947)

Insignificance in terms of population and Territory compared to British India : it was one of the leading causes of the release of the French colonies of India.

Insignificance of the size of the territories : Small size of the counters compared with that of the Indian Union. Indeed the cumulated surface of the French counters in India did not reach the 5000 square km, whereas that of the Union (other than the Cachemire) exceeded the 2,5 million square km.
Low volume of population : Size of the population compared with that of the Indian Union. The total population of the counters did not reach the million individuals whereas that of the Union exceeded the 360 million inhabitants.

lack of precise borders with India : Very few counters had clear borders with India. Much was completely wedged in the Indian territory, especially in the area of Pondichéry.
Economic factors : The economic existence even of the counters depended on the Indian benevolence .
military Absence of resistance : If the India had wished to annex the counters of force, the France could not have made large thing to stop it.

In fact the four most important factors finally led to the fusion of these territories with India.

After the independence of India (1947)

After independence, the independent factors which lead to fusion between the French Establishments and India are:

Indian nationalism : With the independence of the India in 1947, the Indian Nationalisme goes up in power in the colonies which remain in India. One of the obvious signs is the rise of local nationalist parties in these areas. Their increasingly important role in the political life of French India will create a feeling anti-French gradually.

reversal of the Socialists : It is the main cause (and perhaps even the only cause) of the release of the French colonies in India. Members of the socialist party of French India, known under the name of " Socialist " , gradually changed their position to approach the nationalist groups profusion. Thus the rallying of the mayor of Pondichéry, Edouard Goubert, to the camp of fusion with India carried the blow of thanks to French sovereignty on these territories.

Some personalities of this time are:

Edouard Goubert (old Mayor of Pondichéry)
V. Soubbaya (senator of French India - Pondichéry)
Kamichetty Sri Parassourama Varaprassada Rao Naidu (member of the representative Parliament - Yanaon)

Immediate causes of the release

The intervention of the governor

An significant event on the road towards the freedom of Pondichéry occurred the March 18th 1954, when the members of the municipal executive, the Maire of Pondichéry and seven contiguous communes proclaimed their decision to amalgamate with the Indian Union without passing by a Référendum. All the communes of Karikal made in the same way. This decision was to be confirmed by the representative Parliament, but at the time when the members of the socialist party of French India wanted to pass this resolution, the Gouverneur French deferred the meeting. Feeling this operation like a provocation, the socialist directors decided to take the neighbouring communes one after the other then to return in Pondichéry. According to this plan, leaders of the socialist party hoisted the Indian national flag on police station of Nettapakkam the March 31st 1954.

Thus, the intervention of the general governor to prevent the debate with the representative Parliament had as a result:

the catch of the commune of Nettapakkam;
the catch of Mannadipet and Bahour;
formation of the Provisional government in Nettapakkam.

The Conference of Kandamangalam

In the night of the April 11th 1954, with the Conference of Kandamangalam, the Indian general consul, Sri Kewal Singh, concludes that " to release the colonies, it would be necessary to attack one of the four principal français" Establishments; since the French make fun of the provisional government installed with Nettapakkam. According to his idea, the consul asked Mr. Dadala to prepare a plan for the release of Yanaon, whose population and surface were modest. That led directly to the Coup d'etat de Yanaon but also to the final release of the French colonies in India.

The consequences of the conference of Kandamangalam are thus:

the Coup d'etat de Yanaon, carried out by Dadala Raphael Ramanayya the June 13rd 1954 and followed by the entry of the Indian Armed to Yanaon;

a Strike picket of the mahajana sabha under the direction of I.K. Kumaran with Mahé, the June 16th 1954, at the end which the colonial administrator gives the city to his inhabitants.

Active members engaged in the release

V. Subbaih
Edouard Goubert, Mayor of Pondichéry
Sellane Naicker
Sri Kewal Singh, general consul
Venkatasubba Reddiar, City council man of Nettapakkam
K. Kumaran
Dadala Raphael Ramanayya
Kamichetty Venugopala Rao Naidou, member of the assembly representative of Yanaon.

See Too

References

" My Struggle for freedom off French Provinces in India" , autobiography written by Sri Dadala Raphael Ramanayya. (In English)

External bond

Official site of the Government of the Territory of the Union of Pondichéry
THE FRENCH AND PORTUGUESE SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA (In English)

Random links: