The Union Territory of Pondicherry has never been the same after 1962 when the French offered Pondicherrians the option to choose the French nationality or to remain Indian as the former French colony merged with India. While some grabbed the opportunity despite an uncertainty that loomed over their identities and future, others did not — either out of a fear of the unknown, or a sense of loyalty to their new country, India.
In the years that followed, some French national Pondicherrians moved to France and found jobs such as in the French army (soldats), while others stayed back in Pondicherry. Little did they realize that in time, their nationality would be both a blessing and a curse.
