French Indostan (Napoleon's World)

French Indostan, sometimes referred to as French Hindustan, was a French colony located in South Asian, primarily around the Indus River delta. The state was one of the two components of French India, governed separately from Pondichéry (known in the West as the Golden Quarter). Today, the territory that comprised it is primarily the nations of Indostan and Gujarat, with a small portion absorbed by Punjab.

French Indostan was the most populous member of the French Empire and had as its capital Karachi, with a roughly even mix of Hindus and Muslims as well as a number of minority religions. While the official language was French, Sindhi and Gujarati were the most common tongues, along with Rajasthani, Baloch, Punjabi and Hindi. Described as a melting pot, it was the most valuable French colony after Algeria.

France extended semi-local rule to French Indostan in 1972 and further devolved local government in 1997. Indostani soldiers served in the Grand Armee with distinction in every war in France and was often regarded as France's "model colony." With the European Spring and the subsequent collapse of the French Empire, Indostan peacefully broke into two in the "Handshake Divorce," with Gujarat declaring independence on January 27, 2014 and leaving a Sindhi-dominated independent Republic of Indostan.