This is a list of historical and modern flags used by the Tamil people.
Modern Tamil flags
Indian Tamil flags NameImageDescriptionBanner of the Government of Tamil Nadu The banner of the Government of Tamil Nadu depicts the Emblem of Tamil Nadu displayed on a white field. The emblem consists of the National Emblem of India flanked on either side by an Indian flag. Behind the national emblem, is the image of a Gopuram tower based on the West Tower of Madurai Meenakshi Temple.
Sri Lankan Tamil flags
NameImageDescriptionSri Lankan Tamil Ethnic flag The Sri Lankan Tamils use a horizontally split flag in red and yellow. These colors are considered as the national colors of the unrecognized state of Tamil Eelam.Flag of Tamil Eelam Another famous flag of the Sri Lankan Tamils is the flag of Tamil Eelam, the Puli Kodi (tiger flag). The flag has emblem depicting a tiger jumping through a circle of bullets, with crossed black bayonets on a red background. This flag has its origin from the Tamil separation movement in Sri Lanka. The tiger symbol was adopted from the emblem of the Chola Empire, it should reflect the martial history (Veera varalaru) and the national upheaval of the Tamils.Damien Kingsbury Senior Lecturer in International Development, Sri Lanka and the Responsibility to Protect: Politics, Ethnicity and Genocide (2012), p.50Mahfuzul Haque, Ethnic Insurgency and National Integration: A Study of Selected Ethnic Problems in South Asia (1997), p.113 The crossed bayonets were based on the historical crossed sword emblem of Vannimai and represent the armed resistance.Prabhakaran explains the tiger flag in an interview This flag was created by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 1977 and was later in 1990 designated as the National flag of Tamil Eelam.Imogen Tyler, Protesting Citizenship: Migrant Activisms (2017), p.60 Today, the flag is often seen in Tamil diaspora protests all over the world.
Historical Tamil flags
State Flag Image DescriptionChola Dynasty Pouncing Tiger The tiger flag of Chola is mentioned in the Periya Puranam.Sekkizhar: “Chola of Cauvery countryVanniar (Chieftain) Crossed Swords The flag of Pandara Vanniyan, the last Tamil ruler of Vannimai, was "Crossed Swords".Pudukkottai state Lion The emblem of Pudukkottai state was a lion with the Hanuman flag in its right fore paw on a green background.
See also
Proposed flag of Tamil Nadu (1970)
References