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Mahé
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Mahé, a small town (9 km²) surrounded on all sides by Kerala this town is officially a part of Puducherry (Pondicherry). The official name of Mahe is Mayyazhi in the local Malayalam language. The original name of Mahé, Mayyazhi, means "eyebrow of the sea". The Kannur District surrounds Mahe on three sides. At a distance of 85 km the nearest airport is at Kozhikode (Calicut) and the long distance trains stop at Kannur and Badagara.
Formerly a French colony, Mahé now forms a municipality in Mahe district of the Union Territory of Puducherry (based on the east coast).
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Encyclopedia
Mahé, a small town (9 km²) surrounded on all sides by Kerala this town is officially a part of Puducherry (Pondicherry). The official name of Mahe is Mayyazhi in the local Malayalam language. The original name of Mahé, Mayyazhi, means "eyebrow of the sea". The Kannur District surrounds Mahe on three sides. At a distance of 85 km the nearest airport is at Kozhikode (Calicut) and the long distance trains stop at Kannur and Badagara.
Formerly a French colony, Mahé now forms a municipality in Mahe district of the Union Territory of Puducherry (based on the east coast). Mahé has two members (MLAs) in the Puducherry Legislative Assembly, representing Mahé and Pallur.
Demographics
India census, Mahé had a population of 36,823, predominantly Malayalis. Males constitute 47% of the population and females 53%. Mahé has an average literacy rate of 85%, higher than the national average of 59.5%, with male literacy at 86% and female literacy at 85%. In Mahé, 11% of the population consists of children under 6 years of age.
Naming
The name Mahé originated in honour of Bertrand François Mahé de La Bourdonnais (1699–1753), a key architect of French policy in India. One hypothesis suggests that the form of the word originated from Mayyazhi, which evolved to sound like Mayye, and which the French adopted as "Mahé".
An suggests that the Count de La Bourdonnais adopted the name of the Indian town as part of his own name, rather than vice versa.
History
The French East India Company constructed a fort on the site of Mahé in 1724, after an accord concluded between André Mollandin and the raja Vazhunnavar of Badagara three years earlier. In 1741, Mahé de La Bourdonnais retook the town after a period of occupation by the Marathas.
Mayyazhi remained under French jurisdiction until 13 June 1954, when a long independence struggle culminated in its joining the Indian Union.
Mahé consists of Mahé town and Naluthara, which includes four villages: Pandakkal, Pallur, Chalakara and Chembra. The ruler of Mysur from the 1760s, Hyderali (ca 1722–1782), gifted Naluthara to the French as a token of appreciation for the help they gave in opposing the English.
Education in Mahé
Schools
- Jawaharlal Nehru Govt. Higher Secondary School, Mahé
Jawaharlal Nehru Govt. Higher Secondary School was previously known as La Bourdonnais College, named after the French captain who was instrumental in setting up the French enclave.
- Govt. Higher Secondary school, Mahé
This school was previously known as Govt. Girls High School. During French rule the name of the school was Ecole de Filles.
- Govt. Higher Secondary School, Palloor,
- Govt. High School for Girls, Palloor
- Govt. Higher Secondary School, Pandakkal
- Chalakkara High School, Chalakkara
- Ecole Centrale et Cours Complémentaire, Mahé (French medium High School)
Many private schools also operate in Mahé. The St. Theresa church, for example, runs Avila School and St. Theresa School at Chembra, Dr.Ambedkar Public School-Chalakkara, M.M.Nursery and Upper Primer School-Cherukallayi and Eden School, P.K. Raman Memorial School etc....
Mahatma Gandhi Government Arts College
Mahatma Gandhi Government Arts College, the premier college in Mahé, was established in the year 1970, as realisation of the dream project of I. K. Kumaran, the leader of French-Indian Liberation Movement, who was the representative from Mahe to the Legislative assembly.The founder Principal was Prof.K.Ravindran.
The college is situated at the picturesque Mount Vera, Chalakkara, a short distance from Mahé Town. Affiliated to Pondicherry University, the college offers undergraduate courses in Malayalam, Hindi, English, Economics, Chemistry, Plant Science, Physics,Computer Science, Zoology and Mathematics. Post-graduate courses in Plant Science and Hindi are also conducted here.
Mahe Co-operative College of Teacher Education MCCTE)
The college is established in the academic year 2006. The College is run by a Cooperative Society. The President of the society is Mr.E.Valsaraj, Minister for health and education. The MCCIT have one more education institute under it,by name Mahe Institute of Information technology (MIIT) to provide IT education to the students. The Principal of the MCCTE is Mr.A.P.Aravindakshan. College is situated near to famous Mahe church.
Mahe Municipality
Mahe Municipality is the seat of Local Administration in Mahe.
Mahe Municipality is in existence 200 years before under the French Regime. Mahe Municipal area comprises 9 km². with two Assembly Constituencies, i.e. Mahe and Palloor. The last Mayor and the first Chairman of this Municipality is Late. V. N. Purushothaman.
Municipal Council was not in existence with effect from 1978.
Thereafter the Regional Administrator, Mahe / Regional Executive Officer, Mahe used to exercise the power of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman in the capacity of Special Officer of Mahe Municipal Council.
Present Wards of Mahe Municipality
Mahe Municipality consists of 15 wards. They are
- Parakkal (W)
- Choodikotta
- Valavil (W)
- Mundock
- Manjakkal (W)
- Chalakkara (South)
- Cherukallayi (W)
- Chalakkara (North)
- Palloor (South-West) (W)
- Palloor (South-East)
- Palloor (North-East)
- Palloor (North-West)
- Pandakkal (South)
- Pandakkal (Centre)
- Pandakkal (North)
Present Situation
Civic elections were held during 2006 after nearly 30 years. Present Chairman and Vice-chairman of Mahe Municipality is Mr. Ramesh Parambath and Mr. Vinodan. P.P respectively. The Chairman and the fifteen councillors of Mahe Municipality were sworn in.
The present councillors are,
- Vinodhan. P.P (Vice-Chairman)
- A.P. Sheeja
- Karthyayani
- Palliyan Pramod
- Zainaba
- Sathyan Keloth
- K.V. Shoba
- Thittayil Uthaman
- Shobha. P.T.C
- E.V. Narayanan
- Arikulath M.P. Basheer
- Kannipoyil Babu
- Vadakkan Janardhanan
- T.K. Gangadharan
- K.V. Mohanan
Famous People
- I. K. Kumaran, Leader of French Indian Liberation Movement,who is known as Mayyazhi Gandhi, and the first Administrator of free Mahe
- P. Kumaran master, Gandhian and close aide of IK and later part of Jayaprakash Narayan led movement during emmergency. Negotiated with French as IK didnt speak the language.
- M. Night Shyamalan, filmmaker and script writer.
- M.Mukundan's, Malayalam novelist and fiction writer.
- Mohan Kumar renowned painter who has been in Paris for about 25 years
- Prof. Muchikkal Padmanaban, a communist leader in the French Indian Liberation movement.
- E. Valsaraj, Home Minister in Pondicherry Government.
Locations
- The Saint Theresa Roman Catholic Church in Mahe is known in the region. The Annual festival, is conducted by the church between the 5th and 22nd of October every year.
- Puthalam, A temple in Mahe. Is known for its Theyyam.
- Tagore Park
- Water Sports Complex also known as Boat House situated at Manjakkal are nearby locations.
- Mandola Temple (Kavu)
External links
Mandola Temple (Kavu)
See also
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