Treaty establishing De Jure Cession of French Establishments in India

By 1954, it became clear that the fate of the French establishments were at the whim of the government of the Republic of India, which desired a united India within a short period of time.^[2]

On November 1, 1954, the French settlements of Pondicherry (Puducherry), Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam were transferred to the Indian Government, following a referendum in Kizhur (this day is referred to as the de facto Merger Day).^[3] The referendum was held by the French authorities on October 18, 1954; 170 out of 178 members of the Representative Council voted to join the Indian Union. "About four lakh families wanted to join India, councillors were asked to cast their votes to come to a final decision".^[4]

The de jure cession of the Establishments to India was handled by a treaty signed in May 1956. Finally, the Instruments of Ratification of Treaty of Cession between India and France in respect of the settlements were exchanged on August 16, 1962.^[3]

The transitional period of eight years was used for “sorting out interests in the former colony” per a book called Pondicherry that was once French India written by historian Raphael Malangin. Prior to the transfer of the four remaining territories, Chandernagore (Chandannagar) was returned to India via a referendum in 1949. It was S. Rangasamy Naicker in Karaikal who continued Gandhi’s freedom campaign in Pondicherry and the enclaves. “A significant role was played by V. Subbiah of the Communist Party in demanding independence of Indian settlements, while V.K. Krishna Menon was a principal instrument in the reunification of Pondicherry with independent India”.^[3]

Following the result of the referendum, the Cession treaty was signed by Stanislas Ostroróg (representing France) and Jawaharlal Nehru (representing India) on May 28, 1956.^[1]