KARAIKAL

city, Pondicherry union territory, an enclave on the Coromandel Coast within eastern Tamil Nadu state, southeastern India, near the mouth of the Arasalar River. The chief city of the Ka raikal territory and a former French colony in India, it is in the fertile Cauvery River delta, the most important rice-growing area of Tamil Nadu. The area was part of the Cola empire in the 10th century, and it was conquered successively by Vijayanagar, Maratha, Muslim, and French troops, becoming French in the late 18th century. Since 1954 the area has been a popular seaside tourist resort of the union territory. Pop. (1991 prelim.) 61,875.