pŏndĭchĕˈrē, –shĕˈrē or PondichérypôNdēshārēˈ, union territory (2001 provisional pop. 973,829), 183 sq mi (474 sq km) of India. It comprises the noncontiguous enclaves of former French India: Pondicherry (or Pondichéry) and Karikal on the Coromandel Coast in Tamil Nadu state, Yanaon (or Yanam) in Andhra Pradesh state, and Mahé on the Malabar Coast of Kerala state. The capital of the territory is Pondicherry town (1991 pop. 401,437) in the Pondicherry enclave.

The four enclaves and Chandannagar, a town near Calcutta, were remnants of French imperial ambition in India in the 17th and 18th cent. In 1949, Chandannagar was incorporated into West Bengal state. Under an agreement with France, India took over administration of the four enclaves on Nov. 1, 1954; a treaty ceding the settlements to India was signed in May, 1956, but it was not until Aug., 1962, that the formal transfer occurred. Despite some agitation to merge the enclaves with the states surrounding them, the territory remains under the administration of the central government of India.

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