Official languages of Puducherry
During the French colonial rule in its 5 colonies in India, French was the sole official language. During the early twentieth century, Tamil has got equal status along with the existing French language.
After independence in 1962, Telugu and Malayalam also got the same status but with some restrictions.
List of official languages
Though Status of each languages varies differently with respect to each district. When Communicating in between districts of different languages, generally English is used for convenience.
1.Tamil: Language used by the Puducherry Government, especially used when communicating within and between the Tamil majority districts of (Pondicherry and Karaikal) along with issuing official decrees. Also official Language in Tamil Nadu state. It was declared as Classical language in 2005 by Indian Government.
2.French: It is also official language of Puducherry Union territory. Though it was official language of French India (1673–1954), its official language status was preserved by Traité de Cession (Treaty of Cession) signed by India and France on 28 May 1956.
It remained as de jure official language of Puducherry U.T by the Article XXVIII of Traité de Cession which states that,
- Le français restera langue officielle des Établissements aussi longtemps que les répresentants élus de la population n'auront pas pris une decision différente (French version)
- The French language shall remain the official language of the Establishments so long as the elected representatives of the people shall not decide otherwise (English version)
3.Telugu: It is also an official language of Puducherry but used only when communicating within Telugu district (Yanam). So, more correctly it is considered as regional official language of Puducherry while being official language of Yanam District. It is also has official language status in Andhra Pradesh State.
4.Malayalam: It is also an official language of Puducherry but used only when communicating within Malayalam district (Mahé). So, more correctly it is considered as regional official language of Puducherry while being official language of Mahe District. It is also has official language status in Kerala State and Lakshadweep Islands Union Territory.
Language spoken in numbers
As of 2001, number of people speaking in each official languages are,
- Tamil: 220,749 (In Pondicherry and Karikal Districts only)
- Telugu: 31,362 (In Yanam District only)
- Malayalam: 36,823 (In Mahe District only)
- French: Above 10,000