Chennai: The government has changed the name of its former French-ruled territory of Pondicherry to Puducherry to reflect the indigenous history of the region, officials said on Wednesday.
The union territory came under French influence at the end of 17th century, becoming a key trading post in the Bay of Bengal. It then came under direct colonial rule in the 18th century.
The territory, surrounded by Tamil Nadu on three sides and the Bay of Bengal to the east, was formally merged with India in 1963, 16 years after the rest of India got independence from British rule.
The name change which came into effect this week follows a campaign by local groups and politicians.
"Leaders of all political parties are mighty thrilled that, finally, our demand to restore our territory's historic name of Puducherry has been honoured," said Member of Parliament V Narayanaswamy.
The Central Government approved the name change on Monday. Puducherry, which means "new village", was the original Tamil name for the area before the French made it Pondicherry.
The scenic town of one million people is dotted with whitewashed colonial buildings. Bougainvillaea plants and open-air cafes line streets with names such as Rue de La Compagnie.
Many residents still have French nationality. In December 2004, the Asian tsunami slammed into the enclave, killing hundreds of people.
Names of several Indian cities have been changed from their colonial-era names back to their original names or to ones which reflect local language.
In 2001, Calcutta was changed to Kolkata, while Bombay earlier became Mumbai and Madras was renamed Chennai.
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