Puducherry Liberation Day

The Lt. Governor of Puducherry, A.K. Singh issued a notification on August 30th declaring November 1st as Puducherry Liberation Day and a public holiday. November 1st which has been considered as the traditional liberation day will from now on be an official holiday in the Union Territory and will henceforth replace the Independence Day of 16th August.

Puducherry along with its surrounding areas of Mahe, Yanam and Karaikal had their de facto transfer from French India to the Republic of India on this day in the year 1954. It was on this day that Puducherry stopped being a French colony and became a Union Territory. Yanam and Mahe had their liberation on 13th and 16th June respectively in the same year. But collectively November 1st has stuck as the Union Territory’s liberation day, which 60 years later is being turned into a public holiday.

Chief Minister N. Rangasamy promised that arrangements would be made in full force for Liberation Day by the territorial administration to commemorate the historic day in the freedom movement of Puducherry.

He said the decision had been taken after considering the recommendations of a committee, which had gone into the historical facts and evidence.

The Chief Minister expressed that the elected government of Puducherry lived at the mercy of the Central government in Delhi. This lack in executive power, he said, was a drawback for the elected government of Puducherry to go through with its plans and programmes for the union territory.

“We, therefore, demand that Statehood be granted without delay so that the expectations of the people can be fulfilled expeditiously and development plans could also be evolved,” he said, according to a report by The Hindu.