We all know the story of India’s independence from British
rule. What about Pondicherry’s
liberation from French rule? Watch the story unfold at Kizhoor, a sleepy
village, 25 kilometres from the city.
“India’s freedom came at midnight, but Pondicherry woke up
to freedom at dawn,” reads a plaque in a dome-shaped room at Kizhour village,
perched on the border of Tamil Nadu. While Pondicherry,
like the rest of India,
celebrates August 15 with the usual pomp reserved for the occasion, it also
quietly rings in August 16, the ‘de jure day’, when Pondicherry
was finally recognized as a union territory of India.
Interestingly,
it is in the hamlet, around 25 kilometres from the city, that Pondicherry’s story of demand for
independence from French rule took a definite course towards its culmination.
At the end of a recently laid road tunneling through an avenue of trees, and
flanked by green fields , is the memorial that commemorates the end of
colonialism and the dawn of a new era for Pondicherry.
Right
next to the Government
Middle School, stands an
enclosure with four flat marble columns, etched with names from top to bottom.
These are the names of the 178 people who voted in the historic referendum that
decided the fate of Pondicherry-
to join the Indian union or not. On October 18, 1954,the dome shaped structure
adjacent to the enclosure, must have been filled to capacity as these representatives
of the municipal council and members of the representative
assembley from Pondicherry,
Mahe, Yanam and Karaikal shaped the course of the land’s history. A whopping
majority of 170 voted in favour of the merger of French territories with the
Indian Union.
The
occasion was a milestone in the chequered course of the quest for Pondicherry’s liberation
which strengthened after Indian independence in 1947. At this site today, is a
permanent painting exhibition depicting the decisive moments and Kizhour and
the aftermath. While the memorial was inaugurated on August 16, 1972, the
exhibition was opened on the 50th anniversary of ‘de jure day’ in
2004.
Though
pictures hang on crooked frames and could do with a more appealing display, a
short tour lets you relive those moments , all those years ago. Copied from
photographs that are also framed at the gallery, the paintings depict Lambert
Saravane, submitting a motion calling for transfer of four French Indian
settlements to the Indian Union to the French national assembly and the signing
of the merger by Keval Singh and Pyer Lendhi, representing Indian and France,
respectively.
Scenes
from a victory procession with thappu and nadhaswaram are a glimpse of the
celebrations that must have broke out after the verdict. Events that followed
are also chronicled including the hoisting of the Indian tricolor in the
Government House after transfer of power ceremony and the first visit of
Jawaharlal Nehru to Pondicherry after its merger
with India.
A
few portraits of key personalities like Muthucoumarappa Reddiyar, E. Goubert
and Venkatasubba Reddiar line the dusty shelves. Notices condemning the French
rule, newspaper clippings chronicling various milestones, Preamble of the
Treaty of Cession,all provide more insights. A few cartoons say it all without
words- one depicts India
as a woman in saree looking aghast at a French policeman dangling a cage with
her four babies – each named after each one of the French territories.
Congratulatory messages from the Prime Minister and President laud the friendly
spirit of the negotiations, going on to express hope that Pondicherry would remain a centre of French
culture.
Yet,
the road to a complete merger took some more time- the de facto transfer
of power came into effect on November 1, 1954, after which Pondicherry, became part
of the Indian union (November 1st will be celebrated as Puducherry’s Independence
day, from 2014 onwards). But only on
August 16, 1962, France
ratified the treaty of cession, giving India full sovereignty over the
territories it held.
To
reach Kizhour,
take the Villianur road and the turn at the next sign on the left after Pangur.
The memorial Is open between 7 a.m to 7 p.m on all days including Sundays.
History once, was created here, and you can still feel it breathe.
