The World Tamil Conference is a series of occasional conferences to discuss the social growth of the Tamil language

Tamil 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...

. Each conference is attended by thousands of Tamil enthusiasts around the world. Conferences are hosted in various cities in India, as well as world cities with a significant Tamil population. The conference aims in promoting the rich heritage of Tamil language, though many see it also as a political rallying point for electoral fortunes by the ruling dispensation in TN.

A similar conference called World Classical Tamil Conference 2010

World Classical Tamil Conference 2010

The World Classical Tamil Conference 2010 was an international meet by Tamil Scholars, Poets, Political leaders and Celebrities from all around the world. It was held in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu between 23 June and 27 June, 2010.- Venue :...

 unapproved by the International Association for Tamil Research was held in Tamil Nadu conducted by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. It is a Dravidian party founded by C. N. Annadurai as a breakaway faction from the Dravidar Kazhagam headed by Periyar...

 under the leadership of M. Karunanidhi

M. Karunanidhi

Muthuvel Karunanidhi is an Indian politician and a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the leader of the DMK since the death of its founder, C. N...

. Not all agreed with the academic and intellectual rigor of the latter event. Mr.Karunanidhi inaugurated a separate website for this conference.

List of conferences held

The list of world Tamil Conferences held so far is listed below:
{|class="wikitable"
|
|Official title
|Host City
|Host Country
|Year
|Arranged by
|----
|1
|1st World Tamil Conference
|Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...

|Malaysia
|1966
|
|----
|2
|2nd World Tamil Conference
|Chennai

Chennai

Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

|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...

|1968
|M. Bhaktavatsalam

M. Bhaktavatsalam

Minjur Bhaktavatsalam was an Indian lawyer, politician and freedom fighter from the state of Tamil Nadu. He served as the Chief Minister of Madras state from October 2, 1963 to March 6, 1967...

 and C. N. Annadurai

C. N. Annadurai

Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai , popularly called Anna , or Arignar Anna was a former Chief Minister of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu...

|----
|3
|3rd World Tamil Conference
|Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

|France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

|1970
|
|----
|4
|4th World Tamil Conference
|Jaffna

Jaffna

Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...

|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...

|1974
|
|----
|5
|5th World Tamil Conference
|Madurai

Madurai

Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...

|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...

|1981
|M. G. Ramachandran

M. G. Ramachandran

Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran , popularly known by his initials , was an Indian film actor, director, producer and politician....

|----
|6
|6th World Tamil Conference
|Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...

|Malaysia
|1987
|
|----
|7
|7th World Tamil Conference
|Port Louis

Port Louis

-Economy:The economy is dominated by its port, which handles Mauritius' international trade. The port was founded by the French who preferred Port Louis as the City is shielded by the Port Louis/Moka mountain range. It is the largest container handling facility in the Indian Ocean and can...

|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...

|1989
|
|----
|8
|8th World Tamil Conference
|Thanjavur
|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...

|1995
|J. Jayalalitha
|----

|