Lably
Skip to content

France–India relations

Bilateral relations

  • 35 min read
  • 10 chapters

Related on Lably

Through India, Indian subcontinent and International Atomic Energy Agency

Lab · Class 6–11How India Is GovernedLab · Class 6–12Ancient Indian Ocean TradeLab · Class 7–11Disaster ManagementLab · Class 6–10Maps & Projections

Since the establishment of the strategic partnership in 1998, bilateral cooperation between France and India has witnessed notable advancements. There have been frequent high-level exchanges at the head of state/head of government levels, accompanied by an increase in commercial exchanges. These exchanges include strategic areas such as defence, nuclear energy, and space. France became the first country to enter into a nuclear energy agreement with India, following the waiver granted by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Suppliers Group. This enabled India to resume full civil nuclear cooperation with the international community. There even exists a growing and wide-ranging cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, culture, science and technology, and education. France has consistently supported India's goals for a multipolar world, led by regional democracies.

History

An Indian Christian priest, Saint Severus, settled in Vienne, France, in the 5th century.

In 1407 CE, Romani people of Indian origin were recorded living in France.

In the 17th century, François Bernier (1625–1688), a French physician and traveler, served as the personal physician of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb for 12 years.

During the 18th century, France was actively involved in the European colonial powerplay in the Indian Ocean region. French General Dupleix formed alliances with Murzapha Jung in the Deccan and Chanda Sahib in the Carnatic Wars, engaging in conflict against Robert Clive of the East India Company. These relationships were beneficial to the French. The French allies gifted areas such as the Alamparai Fort in return for the services provided by the French against the British East India Company.

The French experienced both victories and defeats during this period. They triumphed in the 1746 Battle of Madras, and alongside the Indian forces, overcame Anwaruddin in 1749. However, setbacks occurred with their failure in the Battle of Arcot in 1751, leading to surrender in 1752. In 1758, they achieved success with the capture of Fort St David under Lally, but suffered defeats at Machilipatnam (1759) and Vandavasi (1760).

Meanwhile, the French military adventurer and mercenary, Benoît de Boigne gained renown in India for his service under the Marathas, whom he assisted in numerous battles against the Rajputs.

With the Treaty of Paris in 1763, France lost its prominence in India, although it maintained five trading posts, leaving opportunities for disputes and power-play with the British. France supported the Patriot cause during the American War of Independence in 1776, and wished to expel the British from India.

In 1782, Louis XVI sealed an alliance with the Maratha Peshwa Madhav Rao Narayan, prompting Bussy to move his troops to Ile de France (Mauritius) and later contribute to French efforts in India in 1783. Admiral Suffren allied with Hyder Ali in the Second Anglo-Mysore War against the British East India Company in 1782–1783, engaging in five battles against the Royal Navy on the coasts of India and Ceylon. During this time, Suffren fought the English admiral Sir Edward Hughes and collaborated with the rulers of Mysore. An army of 3,000 French soldiers collaborated with Hyder Ali to capture Cuddalore.

While the British established authority over the Madras Presidency (covering the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu), France retained control of Pondicherry, Karikal, Yanam, and Mahé, as well as maintaining a foothold in Chandannagar, now in West Bengal. During the British Raj, several Indian independence activists sought refuge in French establishments in India to evade British colonial authorities, including Subramania Bharati, Lala Lajpat Rai and Sri Aurobindo.

Sikh-French relations

Maharaja Ranjit Singh's military comprised over 2000 French soldiers, three of whom rose to the rank of generals and played key roles in the modernization of the Khalsa Army. Singh also hired many Italian, American, Spanish and Prussian soldiers. The Fauj-i-Khas, also known as the French division of the army had French battle standards with its tricolor and eagle emblem. Leading the Europeanization of the army were Jean Francois Allard and Jean-Baptiste Ventura. A bust of Maharaja Ranjit Singh can still be found in Saint-Tropez, France.

India in World War I and World War II

The Indian Expeditionary Force A, Indian Army Service Corps, and Imperial Service Troops contributed to defend France during World War I and World War II.

Darwan Singh Negi, Gabar Singh Negi, Gobind Singh Rathore, and Mir Dast were awarded the Victoria Cross for exceptional gallantry on French battlefields. Flight Lieutenant Hardit Singh Malik of No. 28 Squadron RFC flew a Sopwith Camel over France during WWI.

Some of the more prominent battles involving troops from the India:

India suffered the highest World War I casualties amongst dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories of the British Empire. It is estimated that between 64,449 and 73,895 Indians died in Europe during the First World War (compared to between 59,330 and 62,081 Australians and between 58,639 and 64,997 Canadians).

Of the 130,000 Indians who served in Somme and Flanders theatre of operations during World War I, almost 9,000 died. According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, 8,128 graves of soldiers of the Indian Army and porters of the Indian Labour Corps who perished in World War I and World War II are located in France.

Marshal Ferdinand Foch, the French Commander at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle (which resulted in 4,200 Indian casualties), acknowledged the contribution of troops from India and said: "Return to your homes in the distant, sun-bathed East and proclaim how your countrymen drenched with their blood the cold northern land of France and Flanders, how they delivered it by their ardent spirit from the firm grip of a determined enemy; tell all India that we shall watch over their graves with the devotion due to all our dead. We shall cherish above all the memory of their example. They showed us the way, they made the first steps towards the final victory."

Due to Hindu funeral rites – where mortal remains are cremated – most Indian casualties are commemorated with inscriptions on war memorials at the Neuve-Chapelle Indian Memorial and the Anneau de la Mémoire of Notre Dame de Lorette Ablain St.-Nazaire French Military Cemetery rather than with individual graves. Military cemeteries such as: Ayette Indian and Chinese Cemetery, La Chapelette British and Indian Cemetery, Neuville-Sous-Montreuil Indian Cemetery, Gorre British and Indian Cemetery, Zelobes Indian Cemetery, Étaples Military Cemetery, Saint-Martin-lès-Boulogne Meerut Military Cemetery, Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery, Béthune Town Cemetery, Arques-la-Bataille British Cemetery and Mazargues War Cemetery, Marseilles contain graves or memorials to Indian casualties in France. The Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery contains the grave of Pilot Officer Dastur Rustom Nariman of the Royal Indian Air Force 12 Sqdn. (R.A.F.). Colonial troops and labourers, including those from the Indian Subcontinent, are collectively identified as lascars in French military necropolis as observed at Notre Dame de Lorette Ablain St.-Nazaire French Military Cemetery.

A small number of Indians from French India, notably from Chandannagar, served as colonial infantrymen in the French Army during World War I. The Monument aux Morts in Pondicherry was built in memory of colonial troops from French India. In response to the June 1940 appeal by Charles de Gaulle, Pondicherry became the first French territory to abandon the collaborationist Vichy regime and join Free France.

Cession of French territories in India

France established diplomatic relations with the newly independent India in 1947. An agreement between France and India in 1948 stipulated that the inhabitants of France's Indian possessions would choose their political future. A treaty of cession was signed by the two countries in May 1956, and ratified by the French parliament in May 1962. On 16 August 1962, India and France exchanged the instruments of ratification, under which France ceded to India full sovereignty over the territories it held. Pondicherry and the other enclaves of Karaikal, Mahe, and Yanam came to be administered as the Union Territory of Puducherry from 1 July 1963.

The merits and deficiencies of French colonial presence in India is disputed on accounts of the exploitative nature of colonial trade, segregation of French subjects within the colonial possessions along ethnic lines (Europeans and Creoles were differentiated from ethnic Indians on electoral lists), and the colonial use of indenture labour.

Sign in to keep reading

9 more chapters are free with a Lably account.

More in India

MuslimsAdherents of IslamPresidencies and provinces of British India1612–1947 British directly-ruled administrative divisions in IndiaStates and union territories of IndiaIndia is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 sSikhsReligious groupInternational Alphabet of Sanskrit TransliterationTransliteration scheme for Indic scriptsPrime Minister of IndiaHead of government