Tamil diaspora
They are found primarily in Malaysia, Arab states of the Persian Gulf, South Africa, North America, Western Europe, and Singapore.Tamils have a long tradition of seafaring and a history of overseas migration to foreign lands due to close proximity to the Indian Ocean throughout ancient and medieval times.In the medieval period Tamils emigrated as soldiers, traders and laborers settled in Kerala (specially Palakkad), Karnataka, Maharashtra, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and intermixed well with the local population, while few communities still maintain their language and culture.Many groups still claim descent from medieval-era Tamil emigrants such as the Thigalas, Hebbars of Karnataka who have resided in Karnataka for generations and even adopted Kannada as their mother tongue, Palakkad Iyers of Kerala, Kaikadis of Maharashtra, Chittys of Malaysia and some section of the Sri Lankan Tamils and Sinhaleses such as the Sri Lankan Chetties, the Bharatha people, the Karavas, the Duravas, the Demala Gattaras and the Salagamas.The British thus made use of hungry Tamil workers for their plantations all over the world - Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Mauritius, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Fiji and also Sri Lanka (unrelated to Tamils who migrated to Sri Lanka before the 18th century).They then dominated the trade and finance in Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and other places.Also, many Tamils from India and Sri Lanka migrated to the Crown colony of Singapore and British Malaya as laborers, army clerks and merchants.Black July has created another stream of Sri Lankan and Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka 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 Sri Lankan Tamils to India; some migrated to do white-collar jobs during the British days, but there has been a much bigger diaspora today.The Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora was well established in Malaysia, Singapore and the United Kingdom prior to the 1983 Black July induced dispersal of refugees and asylum claimants in India, Europe, and Canada.Most arrived from Tamil Nadu after 1835, shortly after slavery was abolished, to replace the freed African and malgache slaves, to serve as indentured laborers on the sugar cane plantations.Thiruvalluvar and Bharathi days are also celebrated while Deepavali, Thaipusam, Maha Shivaratri and Pongal are public holidays.[24] 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 Americans.[6] Tamil migration to the French West Indies was mainly sailings from Pondicherry and Karaikal during the years 1853 to 1883 and since 1893 almost all of them got well integrated with the people there.[22] The first Tamils arrived in Trinidad and Tobago as indentured laborers who were brought by the British to work on the sugarcane and other agricultural estates.[26][27] Burma had a Tamil population of 200,000 at one point in the country's history but since the end of the Second World War the number has fallen.Due to intense brain drain and citizenship problems, there is an estimated 250–300,000 Tamils which are yet to be recognized by the Government of Malaysia.The number of Tamils among the 1.64 million "non-resident population"—foreigners working, studying or living in Singapore without permanent residence—was not provided.[31] Sepoy troops from Madras (now Chennai, Tamil Nadu), arrived in Manila, Philippines with the British expedition and occupation between 1762 and 1764 during the Seven Years' War.They were called Chitty, Chà Chetty, Xã tri, Xét ty but had left the country after 1975 incident.These were joined by students moving to the UK for education in the 1970s, and by refugees fleeing the Sri Lankan Civil War in the 1980s and 1990s.[22] However, a majority of Parisian Tamils are of Sri Lankan origin who fled the country and came to France as refugees in the 1980s, escaping the violent civil conflict.According to the journal Hinduism Today, the youth are being well trained in their religion and culture at home and in weekend schools in rented halls using texts from Sri Lanka.[41] Switzerland has about 40,000 Tamils the majority of whom are from Sri Lanka who went as refugees, making the biggest non-European ethnic group.[22] Although they are well entrenched in the country and integrated with the local community, yet they are actively alive to their Hindu or Christian religious and Tamil cultural links.The remainder come from various countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Canada, USA, South Africa, Fiji and Mauritius.In other cities such as Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Townsville, Darwin, Canberra and Hobart, Hindu temples have also been built.
Sri LankaMalaysiaSouth AfricaUnited Arab EmiratesSaudi ArabiaFranceUnited StatesCanadaSingaporeUnited KingdomIndonesiaMauritiusGermanyAustraliaSwitzerlandNorwayDenmarkEnglishvernacularHinduismChristianityTamilsHistory of Tamil NaduHistory of Sri LankaSources of ancient Tamil historySangam periodKeezhadi excavation siteTamilakamAgricultureEconomyEducationIndustryChronology of Tamil historyTamil KingdomsTamilizationCultureLanguageLiteraturePhilosophyScriptNumeral systemMedicineArchitectureCuisineCalendarCinemaPeopleIndian TamilsSri Lankan TamilsMalaysian TamilsSingapore TamilsIndian Tamil diasporaSri Lankan Tamil diasporaMalaysian Tamil diasporaTamil AustraliansFrench TamilsBritish TamilsTamil ItaliansTamil IndonesiansTamil CanadiansTamil AmericansTamil South AfricansMyanmar TamilsTamil MauritiansTamil GermansTamil PakistanisTamil SeychelloisTamil New ZealandersSwiss TamilsDutch TamilsReligion in ancient Tamil countryReligion in Tamil NaduTamil HinduHinduism in Tamil NaduHinduism in Sri LankaTamil BuddhismTamil JainTamil MuslimChristianity in Tamil NaduPolitics of Tamil NaduDravidian nationalismTamil NationalismSri Lankan Tamil nationalismimmigrantssouthern Indian subcontinentTamil NaduPuducherryArab states of the Persian GulfNorth AmericaWestern EuropeSoutheast AsiaEast AfricaCaribbeanSri Lankan TamilNorthern EuropeOceaniaSri Lankan ChettiesChittyBharatha peopleThigalaHebbar IyengarKaikadiIndian OceanemigrantsKeralaPalakkadKarnatakaMaharashtraThailandThigalasHebbarsPalakkad IyersKaikadisChittysSri LankanSinhalesesKaravasDuravasDemala GattarasSalagamasTamil MuslimsSultanate of MalaccaMalaysArabia (Middle East)Indian Tamils of Sri LankaTamil Malaysians