Chandernagor

Book excerpt: When we in India talk about colonial encounters, we almost invariably fail to realize that the very notion of colonialism as understood in Indian academics is wanting. How, otherwise, do we explain the singularities of the Chandernagorian-French colonial encounters? How do we explain the fact that all residents of this quaint town, irrespective of colour, were entitled to full citizenship rights under the French republic since the 1870s? What explains the fact that the Chandernagorians had to themselves the right of representation in the French parliament by popularly elected representatives? How do our nationalists come to terms with the fact that Chandernagor never experienced any mass anti-French movement? And most importantly, how did this singularly unique colonial experience come to be a not-talked-of chapter in Indian history?