Tamil diaspora
Encyclopedia
The Tamil
diaspora
is a demographic group of Tamil people
of India
n or Sri Lanka
n origin who have settled in other parts of the world. Significant Tamil diaspora populations can be found in Malaysia, Singapore
, Indonesia
, the Middle East
, Réunion
, South Africa
, Mauritius
, Seychelles
, Fiji
, Guyana
, Burma, Trinidad and Tobago
, Martinique
, Guadeloupe
, Haiti
, Europe
, Australia
, Canada
and the United States
.
and literature
and a vibrant culture that many still retain. Many groups claim descent from medieval-era Tamil emigrants such as the Chitty
, Vellalar
s of Malaysia and the Colombo Chetty, Vellalar
of Ceylon.
An early emigrant group that is not well documented is the Tamil Muslim
s who emigrated in considerable numbers to the Sultanates of Malacca
(in present day Malaysia) and were instrumental in spreading Islam amongst the indigenous Malays.
. Their descendants are found in Malaysia, Burma, Singapore, South Africa, Mauritius, Fiji, Guyana and Trinidad in large numbers.
Many also left to work in the possessions of the French Empire
via its holdings in Pondicherry in Réunion
and the French Caribbean islands of Martinique
and Guadeloupe
. (See Malabars
)
A small group was hired by the Dutch
colonial government in Batavia or Indonesia
to work in Sumatra
(namely in Medan
). Roughly about 40,000 (est.) descendants of these immigrants are still found in Medan
.
Many independent Tamil merchant guilds such as the Nagarathar
also left for these areas in an age old tradition of their ancestors who had traded in these areas for the last 2,000 years.
Britain also hired many Sri Lankan Tamils as clerical and other white collar workers, especially in Malaysia and Singapore. All these different streams have combined to create vibrant Tamil communities in these countries.
from India and Sri Lanka migrated to Singapore
and Malaysia as army clerks and merchants.
a large number of Tamils and Indians from Burma fled to India- to Manipur
, and Tamil Nadu. They established Burmese refugee colonies that still exist today and maintain an identity as Burmese returnees. In Sri Lanka the Sinhalese
nationalist SLFP party disfranchised all Indian origin Hill Country Tamils and returned 600,000 back to India under the Srimavo-Shastri Pact signed between India and Sri Lanka. Many were repatriated to the Nilgiris
region's tea estates. They too maintain a distinct identity as Ceylon returnees in Tamil Nadu. Black July
and other pogrom
s has created another stream of Sri Lankan and Hill country Tamil refugees in India who have languished for the last 20 years in refugee camps throughout Tamil Nadu while many others have integrated with the mainstream community or left India for other countries in the west.
There is also a movement of Native Eelam Tamils to India,some migrated to do white collared jobs during the British days,but there has been a much bigger diaspora today.
is less than 100 years old and was well established in Malaysia, Singapore and England prior to the post 1983 Black July
induced dispersal of refugees and asylum claimants in India, Europe
, and Canada
. Although relatively recent in origin, this subgroup had well established communities in these host countries prior to the 1983 pogroms. A more recent Sri Lankan Tamil community has developed rapidly in the United States
.
Toronto
, Canada has the highest concentration of Tamils of Sri Lankan descent of any city outside Asia.
.
houses Tamil associations including its own Tamil Sangam. Sizeable Tamil populations and various Tamil organizations have also developed in the New York City Metropolitan Area and the Washington Metropolitan Area
, as well as on the West Coast in the Silicon Valley
, where there are Tamil associations such as the Bay Area Tamil Manram. On the other hand, the New York City
and Los Angeles
metropolitan areas and Central New Jersey are home to the largest concentrations of Tamil-speaking Sri Lankan American
s.
This amounts to about 200 000 people. Almost all official documents printed in Singapore are translated and distributed in Tamil as well as three other national languages. In 1956, the Singapore government decided to adopt a trilingual policy. Students were taught English, a second language, as well as Malay as a third language. Today the emphasis has shifted to bilingualism. Tamil is taught as a second language in all government schools from the primary to junior college levels. Tamil is an examinable subject at all major nationwide exams. There is a daily Tamil newspaper printed in Singapore, the Tamil Murasu
. There is a full-time radio station, Oli 96.8
, and a full-fledged TV channel, Vasantham.
Tamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
is a demographic group of Tamil people
Tamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n or Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
n origin who have settled in other parts of the world. Significant Tamil diaspora populations can be found in Malaysia, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
, Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
, Burma, Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
, Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
, Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Early migrations
Many are descendants of emigrants who left thousands of years ago and mixed with countless other ethnicities, while others are recently moved from Tamil Nadu. The diaspora's identity is rooted in an ancient heritage, a rich languageTamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
and literature
Tamil literature
Tamil literature refers to the literature in the Tamil language. Tamil literature has a rich and long literary tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution...
and a vibrant culture that many still retain. Many groups claim descent from medieval-era Tamil emigrants such as the Chitty
Chitty
The Chitty are a distinctive group of Tamil people found mainly in Malacca and Singapore , who are also known as the Indian Peranakans. As of today, their population stands at 2,000.-Language:...
, Vellalar
Vellalar
Vellalars were, originally, an elite caste of Tamil agricultural landlords in Tamil Nadu, Kerala states in India and in neighbouring Sri Lanka; they were the nobility, aristocracy of the ancient Tamil order and had close relations with the different royal dynasties...
s of Malaysia and the Colombo Chetty, Vellalar
Vellalar
Vellalars were, originally, an elite caste of Tamil agricultural landlords in Tamil Nadu, Kerala states in India and in neighbouring Sri Lanka; they were the nobility, aristocracy of the ancient Tamil order and had close relations with the different royal dynasties...
of Ceylon.
An early emigrant group that is not well documented is the Tamil Muslim
Tamil Muslim
Tamil Muslim refers to those Muslims who have Tamil as their mother tongue. There are around 500,000 in Malaysia which is 2.6% of the total population of Malaysia and 20,000 in Singapore.Tamil Muslims are largely urban traders rather than farmers...
s who emigrated in considerable numbers to the Sultanates of Malacca
Malacca
Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...
(in present day Malaysia) and were instrumental in spreading Islam amongst the indigenous Malays.
British and French indentured workers and others
Another stream of Tamils left during the British colonial period as indentured workers to the far flung corners of the British EmpireBritish Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. Their descendants are found in Malaysia, Burma, Singapore, South Africa, Mauritius, Fiji, Guyana and Trinidad in large numbers.
Many also left to work in the possessions of the French Empire
French colonial empire
The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire...
via its holdings in Pondicherry in Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
and the French Caribbean islands of Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
and Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
. (See Malabars
Malabars
Malabars is an appellation originating from the colonial era that was used by Westerners to refer to all the people of South India...
)
A small group was hired by the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
colonial government in Batavia or Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
to work in Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
(namely in Medan
Medan
- Demography :The city is Indonesia's fourth most populous after Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung, and Indonesia's largest city outside of Java island. Much of the population lies outside its city limits, especially in Deli Serdang....
). Roughly about 40,000 (est.) descendants of these immigrants are still found in Medan
Medan
- Demography :The city is Indonesia's fourth most populous after Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung, and Indonesia's largest city outside of Java island. Much of the population lies outside its city limits, especially in Deli Serdang....
.
Many independent Tamil merchant guilds such as the Nagarathar
Nagarathar
The Nagarathars is a Chettiar community in Shaivism that originated in Kaveripoompattinam under the Chola kingdom of India. They are a prominent mercantile Vaishya, caste in Tamil Nadu, South India...
also left for these areas in an age old tradition of their ancestors who had traded in these areas for the last 2,000 years.
Britain also hired many Sri Lankan Tamils as clerical and other white collar workers, especially in Malaysia and Singapore. All these different streams have combined to create vibrant Tamil communities in these countries.
19th century dispersal of Tamils from India
In the 19th century, TamilsTamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
from India and Sri Lanka migrated to Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and Malaysia as army clerks and merchants.
Back flow from Sri Lanka and Burma
During and after the devastating WW2World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
a large number of Tamils and Indians from Burma fled to India- to Manipur
Manipur
Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of...
, and Tamil Nadu. They established Burmese refugee colonies that still exist today and maintain an identity as Burmese returnees. In Sri Lanka the Sinhalese
Sinhalese people
The Sinhalese are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group,forming the majority of Sri Lanka,constituting 74% of the Sri Lankan population.They number approximately 15 million worldwide.The Sinhalese identity is based on language, heritage and religion. The Sinhalese speak Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language and the...
nationalist SLFP party disfranchised all Indian origin Hill Country Tamils and returned 600,000 back to India under the Srimavo-Shastri Pact signed between India and Sri Lanka. Many were repatriated to the Nilgiris
Nilgiris (mountains)
The Nilgiri , often referred to as the Nilgiri Hills, are a range of mountains with at least 24 peaks above , in the westernmost part of Tamil Nadu state at the junction of Karnataka and Kerala states in Southern India...
region's tea estates. They too maintain a distinct identity as Ceylon returnees in Tamil Nadu. Black July
Black July
Black July is the commonly used name for the anti-Tamil pogrom and attacks carried out by mobs in Sri Lanka which began on July 23, 1983. The riots occurred following a deadly ambush by a Tamil militant organization known as Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam which killed 13 Sri Lanka Army soldiers...
and other pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
s has created another stream of Sri Lankan and Hill country Tamil refugees in India who have languished for the last 20 years in refugee camps throughout Tamil Nadu while many others have integrated with the mainstream community or left India for other countries in the west.
There is also a movement of Native Eelam Tamils to India,some migrated to do white collared jobs during the British days,but there has been a much bigger diaspora today.
Post-1983 dispersal of Sri Lankan Tamils
As noted there are two distinct groups. The Sri Lankan Tamil diasporaSri Lankan Tamil diaspora
The Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora refers to the global diaspora of the people of Sri Lankan Tamil origin. It can be said to be a subset of the larger Sri Lankan as well as Tamil diaspora....
is less than 100 years old and was well established in Malaysia, Singapore and England prior to the post 1983 Black July
Black July
Black July is the commonly used name for the anti-Tamil pogrom and attacks carried out by mobs in Sri Lanka which began on July 23, 1983. The riots occurred following a deadly ambush by a Tamil militant organization known as Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam which killed 13 Sri Lanka Army soldiers...
induced dispersal of refugees and asylum claimants in India, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Although relatively recent in origin, this subgroup had well established communities in these host countries prior to the 1983 pogroms. A more recent Sri Lankan Tamil community has developed rapidly in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada has the highest concentration of Tamils of Sri Lankan descent of any city outside Asia.
20th century dispersal of Tamils from India
In the second half of the 20th century, Tamils from India migrated as skilled professionals to the United States, Canada, Europe, and Southeast AsiaSoutheast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
.
Tamils in the United States
Central New Jersey contains the largest population concentration of Indian Americans of Tamil descent. New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
houses Tamil associations including its own Tamil Sangam. Sizeable Tamil populations and various Tamil organizations have also developed in the New York City Metropolitan Area and the Washington Metropolitan Area
Washington Metropolitan Area
The Washington Metropolitan Area is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The area includes all of the federal district and parts of the U.S...
, as well as on the West Coast in the Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
, where there are Tamil associations such as the Bay Area Tamil Manram. On the other hand, the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
metropolitan areas and Central New Jersey are home to the largest concentrations of Tamil-speaking Sri Lankan American
Sri Lankan American
Sri Lankan Americans are Americans of Sri Lankan descent. Sri Lankan Americans are persons of Sri Lankan origin from various Sri Lankan ethnic backgrounds who are born or raised in the United States or are naturalized citizens of the U.S. They incorporate American values into their lives and...
s.
Tamils in Singapore
Tamil Language is one of the four official languages in Singapore. An estimation of about 3.2% percent of the total population in Singapore speaks Tamil.This amounts to about 200 000 people. Almost all official documents printed in Singapore are translated and distributed in Tamil as well as three other national languages. In 1956, the Singapore government decided to adopt a trilingual policy. Students were taught English, a second language, as well as Malay as a third language. Today the emphasis has shifted to bilingualism. Tamil is taught as a second language in all government schools from the primary to junior college levels. Tamil is an examinable subject at all major nationwide exams. There is a daily Tamil newspaper printed in Singapore, the Tamil Murasu
Tamil Murasu
Tamil Murasu is a Singapore based Tamil language newspaper. Launched in 1935 by Thamizhavel G. Sarangapani, Tamil Murasu is Singapore's only Tamil language newspaper...
. There is a full-time radio station, Oli 96.8
Oli 96.8FM
Oli 96.8FM is a contemporary music radio station of MediaCorp playing a unique blend of Hindi Top 10 movie hits. Oli 96.8FM is the only official Hindi language radio station to be launched...
, and a full-fledged TV channel, Vasantham.
See also
- Tamil NaduTamil NaduTamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
- Pondicherry
- Sri Lankan Tamil people
- Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka — A culturally and linguistically distinct group, descended from Indian Tamils who migrated to Sri Lanka in the 19th and 20th centuries.
- ChittyChittyThe Chitty are a distinctive group of Tamil people found mainly in Malacca and Singapore , who are also known as the Indian Peranakans. As of today, their population stands at 2,000.-Language:...
- ChindianChindian"Chindian" is a compound word used to refer to an Indian restaurant within the village of Chinnor, Oxfordshire. It is formed simply, yet ingeniously, by putting the "ch" from "Chinnor" in front of the word "Indian"....
- Sri Lankan MudaliyarsSri Lankan MudaliyarsMudali was a colonial title & office in Sri Lanka. The Portuguese colonials created the Mudaliyar class in the 17th century by enlisting natives of different castes form the coastal areas, who were most likely to serve the Portuguese masters with utmost loyalty. The Dutch continued the practice of...
- Sri Lankan Tamil diasporaSri Lankan Tamil diasporaThe Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora refers to the global diaspora of the people of Sri Lankan Tamil origin. It can be said to be a subset of the larger Sri Lankan as well as Tamil diaspora....
- Sri Lankan Tamils in IndiaSri Lankan Tamils in IndiaSri Lankan Tamils in India mainly refer to Tamil people of Sri Lankan origin in India and non resident Sri Lankan Tamil. They are partly who migrated to India and their descendants and mostly refugees from Sri Lanka because of the recently concluded Sri Lankan Civil War...
- Indians in Singapore
- Indian South AfricansIndian South AfricansIndian South Africans are people of Indian descent living in South Africa and mostly live in and around the city of Durban, making it 'the largest 'Indian' city outside India'. Most Indians in South Africa are descendents of migrants from colonial India during late 19th-century through early...
- Réunionnais of Indian origin
- Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian
- Indo-CaribbeanIndo-CaribbeanIndo-Caribbean people or Indo-Caribbeans are Caribbean people with roots in India or the Indian subcontinent. They are mostly descendants of the original indentured workers brought by the British, the Dutch and the French during colonial times...
- Indo-Caribbean AmericanIndo-Caribbean AmericanIndo-Caribbean American people are Americans who trace their ancestry ultimately to India, though whose recent ancestors lived in the Caribbean, where they began migrating in 1838. There are large groups of Indo-Trinidadians, Indo-Guyanese, and Indo-Jamaicans in the United States, especially in New...
- British Tamil
- Sri Lankan AustralianSri Lankan AustralianSri Lankan Australian refers to people of Sri Lankan heritage living in Australia. This includes at least four Sri Lankan ethnic groups in Australia the Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Tamil, Sri Lankan Moors and Burghers. According to Australian Bureau of Statistics data, there is no self-identifying "Sri...
- Tamil CanadianTamil CanadianTamil Canadian or Canadian Tamils are Canadians of Tamil ethnic origins mostly from India and Sri Lanka. It is estimated that the Tamil diaspora in Canada is around 200,000. From a population of fewer than 150 Tamils in 1983, it has become one of the largest visible minority population groups...
- List of prominent Sri Lankan Tamils
- MalabarsMalabarsMalabars is an appellation originating from the colonial era that was used by Westerners to refer to all the people of South India...
- Term used to describe Tamils in Reunion - Tamil nationalismTamil nationalismTamil nationalism in India is an aspiration by some Tamils to establish, at minimum, self determination or at maximum secession from India to establish an Independent Tamil State of which would consist of today's Tamil nadu, Puducherry and Tamil Eelam of Sri Lanka...
- Tamil Réunionnais
- Ernest MoutoussamyErnest MoutoussamyErnest Moutoussamy, born 7 November 1941 at Saint-François , is a Tamil politician from a family of Indian origin with ancestral roots from the Indian states of Tamil Nadu or Pondicherry.-Political career:...
from GuadeloupeGuadeloupeGuadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
-- http://www.moutoussamy.net/ - World Tamil People -- http://www.tamilkalanjiyam.com/tamil_world/countries/