March 9, 2012
History of Pondicherry
According to
mythology Pondicherry was once the abode of Agastya the great Hindu sage. Excavation at Arikamedu suggests that
Pondicherry was a major port and trading center which
imported Roman goods on large scale. The excavation also revealed that the
place had the trading relation with Greece which continued till 10th
century when the region was under the rule of Cholas dynasty.
During the
16th century Pondicherry witnessed the arrival of Portuguese who
ruled the region for the next some years. Thereafter Dutch and French came
there for trading purposes. In 1663 French started to rule the region. It was
French who ruled Pondicherry for the longest time. There were several minor
battles between French and British over the land of Pondicherry. These
conflicts came to an end after an agreement was signed between them. According
to the agreement Pondicherry remained under the control of French who continued
to rule it until 1954 when Pondicherry was annexed to the Indian republic. At
present Pondicherry is one of seven union territories of India. Owing to the
long rule of French, influence of their culture can still be seen in
Pondicherry.
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