DiplomacyMadras State (Congress era)
French India transferred de facto to India after the Kizhoor referendum
After the Kizhoor referendum, Pondicherry, Karaikal, Yanam and Mahe passed de facto from France to the Indian Union.
After independence, the French enclaves in and around Tamil Nadu came under pressure to join India, and a 1948 agreement provided for a vote on their future. In October 1954 the elected representatives of the settlements voted at Kizhoor for merger with India. On 1 November 1954 the four enclaves of Pondicherry, Karaikal, Yanam and Mahe were transferred de facto to the Indian Union and administered by a High Commissioner, later a Chief Commissioner. The Tamil-majority enclaves of Pondicherry and Karaikal formed the core of the later Union Territory of Puducherry.
