People in Pondicherry are proud of their French heritage: Kiran Bedi defends celebrating World Cup victory

On Sunday, Puducherry governor Kiran Bedi was heavily criticised on Twitter for celebrating the French victory in Russia and saying 'We the Puducherrians' won.

She wrote on Twitter: "We the Puducherrians (erstwhile French Territory) won the World Cup.  Congratulations Friends. What a mixed team-all French. Sports unites."

A lot of Twitter users however felt the enthusiasm was misplaced, given Puducherry was a France colony and it displayed a colonial mindset.

How Twitter reacted: 

Arvind Kejriwal always says LGs are no less than Viceroy of foreign Invaders.

LGs like be to live in the era when India was a Colony of British and French.

Madam wake up !!! https://t.co/EHWOH99wF1

— Saurabh Bharadwaj (@Saurabh_MLAgk) July 15, 2018

Celebrating French win in FIFA World Cup Final is OK but there's nothing for Puducherians to celebrate their French past as India forced French colonizers out of Puduchery after Independence and that's,obviously, not a memory to cherish#justasking https://t.co/CGmuhWh2Dd

— Truth Seeker (@anupamdeb775) July 16, 2018

Its not required to tweet on every subject. Sometimes it is OK to not tweet anything on a hot topic. https://t.co/pgP3p3QtYb

— Raju Das | ৰাজু দাস (@rajudasonline) July 15, 2018

Madam,there is no such thing as "French territory".Puducherry was French colony.

Puducherry was used by French as hunting ground of slaves. Tamil girls from Puducherry were abducted and sent to Mauritius to sexually entertain French Captains. Most of them died of humiliation https://t.co/DCsQDuLhh7

— True Indology (@TrueIndology) July 16, 2018

Madam,
You are openly endorsing colonialism and all the wrongs done to millions of Indians. No wonder the RSS never participated in the freedom struggle.
Congratulations on your victory, anti-national madam. https://t.co/hbu5v674W5

— Angellica Aribam (@AngellicAribam) July 15, 2018

This tweet is beyond disgusting. Only competes with even more disgusting tweet of her dehumanising erstwhile ‘criminal castes & tribes’ after an incident in UP where police as usual arrested some people of those castes to ‘show action’. https://t.co/JIQmayARzW

— Abhinav Prakash (@Abhina_Prakash) July 15, 2018

The French were an occupying force in Pondicherry until 1954. One can support the team, but not because the country colonised us. Odd that the governor should do so. https://t.co/fwZgI6pFf4

— Suhasini Haidar (@suhasinih) July 16, 2018

Should the rest of India mourn England’s exit and fly the Union Jack half mast? #Colonised https://t.co/wjtiWR2QVx

— Abhijit Majumder (@abhijitmajumder) July 15, 2018

Later defending her tweet, Kiran Bedi wrote: "When one shares joy it multiplies. #Puducherry is a place of celebrations and shared joy.

It’s spiritual and nature gifted. It has inherited its water harvesting infra from the French. People are grateful to them for the Tanks,Lakes,Ponds, Canals & Channels.We owe a lot to them."

She also defended herself and told ANI: “You had to see Pondicherry yesterday, we streamed the FIFA final on the beach, people in Pondicherry are very proud of their French heritage. People felt related to the French team, they felt a part of them won the World Cup.”

After facing flak over her congratulatory tweet for France’s World Cup win, Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi on Monday said everyone was thrilled over the win hence; she was sharing joy with the Puducherrians.

‘People here are very proud of their French heritage. Everyone was thrilled because they felt connected with the win. I was sharing joy with the Puducherrians,’ Kiran Bedi told reporters here.

The Puducherry Lt Governor gave a fodder to the tweeple on Sunday after she congratulated Puducherrians, terming it erstwhile French Territory, on the victory of France in FIFA World Cup.

Taking to social media, Bedi said that Puducherrians, the erstwhile French Territory, won the World Cup.

Soon after her tweet, the users of the micro-blogging site ridiculed her and even asked her to pull the tweet down.

"We are Indians Madam. Your publicity stunts need to stop.." said one of the trollers.

On related note, France on Sunday won its second FIFA World Cup title after defeating Croatia in a high-octane final at the Luzhniki Stadium in Russia.

In a tournament filled with dramatic ups and downs, France stood tall in the end, keeping cool at all times despite not being in its sublime form in the group stage.