town, Puducherry (Pondicherry) union territory, southern India. It constitutes an enclave within northeastern Andhra Pradesh state, on the main mouth of the Godavari River. Formerly part of the Chola empire (Chola dynasty), the area came under Muslim occupation in the 16th century. In the 17th and 18th centuries it was the scene of constant warfare between Muslim, British, and French troops. When much of the coastal plain was incorporated into the Madras Presidency in 1765, Yanam remained a French enclave. It joined the union territory in 1954. Pop. (2001) 31,394.