Tamil diaspora

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Tamil diaspora

புலம்பெயர் தமிழர்
Total population
8 million
Malaysia	~1,897,000 (2018.est)[1]
South Africa	~600,000 (2013)[2]
United Arab Emirates	~400,000[3][4]
Saudi Arabia	~350,000[4][3]
France[a]	~302,000[5]
United States	~238,699[6]
Canada	237,599 (2021)[7][b]
Singapore	198,449 (2020)[c][8]
United Kingdom	~120,000 (2007)[9]
Indonesia	~75,000 (2008)[10]
Mauritius	~72,089 (2011)[11]
Germany	~60,000 (2008)[12]
Australia	~50,000 (2011)[13]
Switzerland	~35,000 (2008)[14]
Italy	~25,000 (2005)[15]
Norway	~10,000 (2000)[16]
Denmark	~9,000 (2003)[17]
Languages
Tamil English vernacular languages of other countries in the diaspora
Religion
Hinduism (Majority) Christianity Islam

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The Tamil diaspora refers to descendants of the

Four groups make up the bulk of the Tamil diaspora: colonial-era descendants of migrants to Southeast Asia, South Africa, East Africa, the Caribbean, and Fiji; recent, educated Tamil immigrants primarily to the U.S., Australia, and the U.K.; Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who resettled primarily in Canada, Western and Northern Europe, and Oceania between the 1980s and 2010s; and recent Tamil migration to the Gulf states of the Middle East as labor.

Early migrations

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. Many of the Tamil

During this period British, Dutch, French, Portuguese and Danish colony administrators recruited many local Tamils and took them to their overseas colonies to work as laborers, petty administration officers, and in clerical and military duties.

In the 19th century, the Madras Presidency (of which the Tamil Nadu region was affected by severe famines, such as the Great Famine of 1876–78. Tamil Nadu was both politically and economically weak. 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).

Some of the Tamil groups (especially the Chettiyars, Pillais, Muslims) emigrated as commercial migrants. They then dominated the trade and finance in Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and other places. The first Indian to own a merchant ship during the British times comes from this group.^[20]

These Tamilians integrated and assimilated well with their adopted countries, and became well integrated into local populations in Mauritius, South Africa, Guyana, and Fiji. On the other hand,

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.

Also, many

Tamil migration to

The Tamil language is taught in approximately 100 primary schools. Tamil language and literature can be studied at university level to obtain B.A. and M.A. degrees. The Mahatma Gandhi Institute promotes the Indian languages which are present in Mauritius. Tamils are attempting to include their religion and other Hindu practices. Once Tamil priests came from Jaffna in Sri Lanka, they conducted prayers in Tamil. Later, some scholars started to facilitate the population to get access to sacred books. This helped the people to learn Tamil holy Enchantment from Thevarams and Thiruvasagam^[22]

Réunion

Tamil settlement in the French department of

Tamil traders from

Canada has a large concentration of Sri Lankan Tamils, almost 90% of the Tamil population - amounting to 120,000.^[22] Tamil is taught from primary to pre-university level and 100% of them learn the language with interest. The cultural needs of the community are catered to well by round the clock radio/television channels and by numerous Tamil publications - literary and religious. Several Canadian universities contain large Tamil Student Associations (TSAs).

As per the 2021 Canadian census, Tamil Canadians number approximately 240,000 and account for roughly 0.7% of Canada's population.^[7][b]

There are many more pro-active voluntary organisations keeping the Tamil culture alive. Toronto is home to the largest Tamil-speaking population outside Asia.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2012-2016 American Community Survey, there are 438,699 people speaking Tamil at home in the US.[6]

Caribbean

French West Indies

Tamils have been in Trinidad and Tobago since the 1840s.^[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. There was a Shiva temple called the "Madras Sivalayam" or the Caura Road temple. The Deepavali celebration by the Tamils there displayed extraordinary pluralism.

Asia

South Asia

Pakistan

A large community of Tamils exists in

Burma

Tamils were brought to Indonesia by the Dutch in the 1860s to build up their plantations. They were used as hard labor, and as the conditions were not conducive many returned in the 1940s. About 30,000 to 40,000 remained in Northern Sumatra, and as a result, there remained a concentration of Tamils in that region.

Malaysia

Malaysia has a Tamil population of 1,800,000 making up 6.3% of the Malaysian population as of 2018 starting mainly from 1901 when it was called British Malaya.^[22] Initially the migration was to work in the rubber plantations but later turned to trade and other professions mostly in the government sector such as the railways and the Public Works Department. The first Tamil school was there as early as 1876 but by 1925 it rose to 235 and by 2018 they had 530 schools. 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.

Singapore

According to the 2020 census, there were 198,449 Tamil citizens and permanent residents living in Singapore, representing 3.5% of the resident population. 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.^[8]

Tamil Language is one of the four official languages in Singapore.^[28] An estimation of about 3.2% percent of the total population in Singapore speaks Tamil at home, while about 5% is literate in Tamil language.^[29] 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.^[30] Today the emphasis has shifted to bilingualism, where the medium of instruction is English with the mother-tongue as a second language, while the third language is optional.

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

Other countries

Sepoy troops from Madras (now

Cainta, Rizal, just east of Metro Manila.^[32]

The region in and around Cainta still has many Sepoy descendants.

Vietnam had a small minority of about 3,000 Tamils mostly in Saigon (nowadays Ho Chi Minh City).^[22] Dandayuthapani, Subramaniam Swamy and Mariyamman temples are located near Bến Thành Market. They were called Chitty, Chà Chetty, Xã tri, Xét ty but had left the country after 1975 incident.^[33]

Thailand has about 10,000 Tamils living there while there are 1,000 Tamils in Cambodia.

West Asia

The Middle East is home to thousands of migrants from Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, and over 75.000 migrants immigrated to the Middle East in 2012 alone.^[34] However, statistics on the numbers of migrants are scarce.

Qatar

Thirukkural

and for conducting Tamil elocution contests for Tamil children.

United Arab Emirates

According to the Tamil Nadu migration survey 2015, there are 400,000 emigrants in the United Arab Emirates having come from Tamil Nadu as professionals and workers in many sectors. This figure doesn't include other ethnic Tamil coming from other Indian states or other countries.^[3][4][22]

Pongal and New Year are celebrated on a grand scale in Dubai and in a few other states. The first Tamil newspaper from the Middle East region was launched from Dubai on 10 December 2014. Tamil 89.4 FM radio is a Tamil radio broadcasting from Dubai, UAE.^[35]

Saudi Arabia

According to the Tamil Nadu migration survey 2015, there are 350,000 emigrants having come to Saudi Arabia from Tamil Nadu as workers. This figure doesn't include other ethnic Tamil coming from other Indian states or other countries.^[3][4]

Other countries

Bahrain is home for over 7000 Tamils mostly professionals and workers.^[22] Kuwait is also home for a substantial number of Tamils who are recent migrants.

Europe

Northern Europe

Scandinavia

The first Tamil immigrant to Norway, Anthony Rajendram from Gurunagar, came to Norway in 1956. The majority of the early immigrants had contacts to Rajendram, and came as immigrant worker.^[36] Most had their origins in a few villages on the edge of Jaffna town such as Gurunagar, Ariyalai and Navanthurai.^[37] This first group was a starting point for future immigration to Norway. Norway has about 10,000 - 13,000 Tamils most of whom are Sri Lankan refugees. The city of Bergen is the home for about 400 Tamil families and it has become the centre for Tamil gatherings. Around 7,000 Tamils also live in the capital Oslo. Sweden has a Tamil population of about 2,000 and is of recent origin.

United Kingdom

Main article:

British Tamil

Community estimates suggest that 150,000 Tamils lived in the United Kingdom (UK) as of 2008^[update],^[38][39] with a 2006 Human Rights Watch report putting the number of Sri Lankan Tamils in the UK at 110,000.^[40] Migration of significant numbers of Tamils to the UK started with labor migrants in the 1940s. 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.^[38] The majority live in North London.^[39]

Western Europe

Metropolitan France

Sri Lankan Tamil community in Paris, France

About 302,000 Tamils live in

Pondichéry when it was still a French colony.^[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.

Germany

Yoga Swamigal – two well organised Hindu temples – Sidhivinayagar Kovil and the kamadchi Amman Kovil –have in place in the city of Hamm since 1984. 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. They even wear Hindu symbols of Vibuthi and Tilakam.^[41]

Switzerland

Main article: Swiss Tamils

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. Temples, cultural festivals, international conferences, seminars and meetings draw many of the Tamil diaspora from other European countries to the various Swiss cities, so much so that it has become the nerve centre of Tamil cultural activism.^{[citation needed]} A large Tamil community was established in Zurich with a place known as little Jaffna.^[42]

Other countries

Denmark has over 7,000 Tamils, the majority being refugees.^[22] There are two well patronised Hindu temples – one for Vinayagar and another for Abhirami – and the Tamil population has got well adapted to the Danish environment. The Netherlands also has more than 20,000 Tamils, the majority of whom are, again, refugees from Sri Lanka.

Oceania

Australasia

Australia

Main article:

Tamil Australian

There are officially about 72,000 Tamils in

Victoria. However, the actual number of ethnic Tamils is possibly double this amount and could be estimated at 100,000.^[43]

Among this 40% are from Sri Lanka and 35% are from India. The remainder come from various countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Canada, USA, South Africa, Fiji and Mauritius. More than 80% have completed high school education compared to 78% (2010) for the general Australian population. More than 15% own their houses while more than 30% of the general population own their houses.

Numerous Tamil schools and Hindu Temples have been established in all main cities to cater for the growing

Carrum Downs south east of Melbourne

is also a temple built by Sri Lankan Tamils. The Sunshine Murugan Temple in western Melbourne also caters to the Tamil community. In other cities such as Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Townsville, Darwin, Canberra and Hobart, Hindu temples have also been built.

The Tamil language is one of the approved subjects for the HSC examination and Tamil skill tests are conducted for children of ages five to sixteen.

New Zealand

New Zealand has about 6,800 Tamils, mostly professionals who have migrated on their own.^[44]

Melanesia

Fiji

Main article: South Indians in Fiji

Fiji had a Tamil population of over 110,000 having been taken there to work in the plantations by the colonial masters in the 1880s.^[22] Out of an Indian population of 350,000 the Tamils could number about 80,000 now.

The number who could speak is about 5,000 only and another 1,000 could write. It is only about 6,000 who declare their origins as Tamils as most of them have got well integrated with the local population. Most of them have lost their Tamil identity and are Tamils only in name. The South Indian Sanmarga Sangam is the pioneer body that forged the Tamil culture, Tamil education and the Hindu practices in the country for a long time. In 2005, it was revealed that in the 20 primary schools managed by TISI, out of the 4940 students, 1765 took Tamil classes.^[45]

New Caledonia

Main article: Indians in New Caledonia

There are about 500 New Caledonians of Indian Tamil descent. Like in Réunion, they were known as Malabars and orinignally arrived in the 19th century from other French Territories, namely Réunion. New Caledonia has several descendants of Tamils, whose parents intermarried with the local population in the last century.

See also

• Tamil Nadu diaspora
• Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka
• Sri Lankan Tamils
• Tamil nationalism
• List of Tamil businesspeople

Notes

1. ^ Includes Overseas France, especially Réunion.
2. ^
   mother tongue, but instead as a second or third language
   .
3. ^ This number does not include the 1.64 million "non-resident population": foreigners working, studying or living in Singapore without permanent residence. It only includes the 5.69 million citizens and permanent residents living in Singapore.

References