The Indian Consul-General to the French Establishments in India (French India) was the chief diplomatic representative of India to the French Republic for the French Establishments in India housed in the 7 rue de Capuchins, Pondicherry. It was created after Indian independence in 1947 and existed until the de facto transfer of the French possessions to India on 1 November 1954.[1]

The inaugural Consul-General for India in the French Establishments in India at Pondicherry was Mirza Rashid Ali Baig who held the post between 1947 and 1949.[2] This consulate had jurisdiction over the Portuguese possessions in India as well[3] The last diplomat who hold this office was Kewal Singh who took charge as Chief Commissioner shortly before the de facto transfer in 1954.

List of Consuls-general

No. Name Took office Left office
2 Mirza Rashid Ali Baig circa 1947 November 1949
2 S.K. Banerjee 31 November 1949[4] June 1950
3 R.K. Tandon 10 June 1950[5] circa October 1953
4 Kewal Singh circa October 1953 21 October 1954

Cessation of consulate

De facto transfer of the French Establishments in India occurred on 1 November 1954. A Chief Commissioner, appointed by Government of India, replaced the last French Commissioner of French India, Georges Escargueil. Then consul-general Kewal Singh was appointed as the first Chief Commissioner of French Establishments in India, immediately after the Kizhoor referendum, on 21 October 1954, as per Foreign Jurisdiction Act, 1947.[1] The Chief Commissioner had the powers of the former French commissioner, but was under the direct control of the Union Government.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Cabinet Responsibility to Legislature. Lok Sabha Secretariat. 2004. p. 964. ISBN 9788120004009. ((cite book)): |work= ignored (help)
  2. ^ Asia Who's Who. Hong Kong: Pan-Asia Newspaper Alliance. 1950. p. 164.
  3. ^ The Constituent Assembly of India (Legislative) Debates, Volume 6. Manager of Publications. 1948. p. 318.
  4. ^ S., Geetha (2008). "V. Political Manoeuvres and the Barren Years of Indo-French Relations". Society and politics in French India: merger and anti-merger alignments in the Mid-Twentieth century (PDF) (Doctoral thesis). Pondicherry University. p. 214. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  5. ^ Ajit K Neogy (2021). Decolonization of French India: Liberation movement and Indo-French relations 1947-1954. Pondicherry: Institut français de Pondichéry. p. 163. ISBN 9791036566608.
  6. ^ The Statesman's Year-Book 1963: The One-Volume ENCYCLOPAEDIA of all nations. MACMILLAN&Co.LTD, London. 1963. p. 198. ISBN 9780230270893. ((cite book)): |work= ignored (help)
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