Puducherry

Puducherry, formerly known as Pondicherry (/ˌpɒndᵻˈtʃɛri/;literally New Town in Tamil) is a Union Territory of India. It was formed out of four exclaves of former French India namely Puducherry, Karaikal, Yanam and Mahe. It is named after the largest district Puducherry. Historically known as Pondicherry (Pāṇṭiccēri), the territory changed its official name to Puducherry (Putuccēri) on 20 September 2006.

Puducherry lies in the southern part of the Indian Peninsula. The areas of Puducherry and Karaikal are bound by the state of Tamil Nadu, Yanam and Mahe are enclosed by the states of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala respectively. Puducherry is the 29th most populous and the third most densely populated state/UT in India. It has a GDP of ₹0.21 lakh crore (US$3.1 billion) and ranks 27th in India.

History

The earliest recorded history of Puducherry can be traced to the 2nd century CE. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea mentions a marketplace named Poduke (ch 60). G. W. B. Huntingford identified suggested this might be a site about 2 miles from the modern Puducherry, which was possibly the location of Arikamedu (now part of Ariyankuppam). Huntingford noted that Roman pottery was found at Arikamedu in 1937. In addition, archaeological excavations between 1944 and 1949 showed that it was "a trading station to which goods of Roman manufacture were imported during the first half of the 1st century CE".

Kiran Bedi

Kiran Bedi (born 9 June 1949) is an Indian politician, social activist, former tennis player and a retired police officer. Bedi joined the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1972, becoming its first woman officer.

As a teenager, Bedi became the national junior tennis champion in 1966. Between 1965 and 1978, she won several titles at national and state-level championships. After joining IPS, Bedi served in Delhi, Goa and Mizoram. She started her career as a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in Chanakyapuri area of Delhi, and won the President's Police Medal in 1979. Next, she moved to West Delhi, where she brought a reduction in crimes against women. Subsequently, as a traffic police officer, she oversaw traffic arrangements for the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi and the 1983 CHOGM meet in Goa. As DGP of North Delhi, she launched a campaign against drug abuse, which evolved into the Navjyoti Delhi Police Foundation (renamed to Navjyoti India Foundation in 2007).

In May 1993, she was posted to the Delhi Prisons as inspector general (IG).She introduced several reforms at Tihar Jail, which gained worldwide acclaim and won her the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1994. In 2003, Bedi became the first woman to be appointed the United Nations civilian police adviser. She resigned in 2007, to focus on social activism and writing. She has written several books, and runs the India Vision Foundation. During 2008–11, she also hosted a court show Aap Ki Kachehri. She was one of the key leaders of the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement, and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in January 2015.