Mahe

State

Mahé, a small town (9 km²) surrounded on all sides by Kerala and is officially a part of Puducherry. The official name of Mahe is Mayyazhi (മയ്യഴി) in the local Malayalam language. The original name of Mahé, Mayyazhi, means "eyebrow of the sea". The Kannur District surrounds Mahe on three sides. The nearest airport is Calicut International Airport, Karipur at a distance of 85 km; Kannur Airport under construction is nearing completion at Mattannur at a distance of 40 km. Nearest Railway Station is Mahe where a few local and express trains stop. The nearest major Railway Stations where several long distance trains stop are Thalassery, 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 Pallor.

Mahe is a tiny point in the Geographical map of Kerela, the million earner for the distant Pondicherry Government, 647 kms away from Pondicherry. In this former small French Town which covers an area of 9 Sq. kms , over 36,000 inhabitants live in peace.

On examination of the history of Kerala no concrete evidence is available mentioning the place ‘Mahe’ other wise called by the natives "Mayyazhi". It is only after the settlement of the French, the name Mahe (Mayyazhi) got a place in the geographical map of India.

History

Before British Raj in India, this area was part of Kolathu Nadu which comprised Thulunadu, Chirakkal and Kadathanadu. During the British Raj in India, this area was a French Colony. After independence of India this area continued to be a French Colony. After the French left, Mahe stood as a Union Territory. Later this became a Sub-Division of Puducherry State. The area of Mahe begins from Mayyazhi puzha in the north to Azhiyoor at the south. In fact the present Mahe entirely is part of North Malabar.
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[citation needed] culminated in its joining the Indian Union.