The Tamil diaspora refers to descendants of the Tamil speaking immigrants who emigrated from their native lands in the southern Indian subcontinent (Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Sri Lanka) to other parts of the world. They are found primarily in Malaysia, Arab states of the Persian Gulf, South Africa, North America, Western Europe, and Singapore. It can be divided into two main diasporic clusters, due to geographical, historical and cultural reasons, as Indian Tamil diaspora and Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora.
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 emigrants who left the shores of Tamil Nadu before the 18th century mixed with other ethnicities in other regions. 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.
An early emigrant group that is not well documented is the Tamil Muslims who emigrated in considerable numbers to the Sultanate of Malacca (in present-day Malaysia) and were instrumental in spreading Islam amongst the indigenous Malays. Some are descended from immigrants from Arabia (Middle East), though it is not known which part of the Arab world they were from.
British, French, and Dutch indentured workers and others
During this period the 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 Tamil region of the Madras Presidency was affected by severe famines, such as the Great Famine of 1876–78, and as such the region 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.
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, Karnataka Tamils of Karnataka, Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka of Sri Lanka, and Tamil Malaysians of Malaysia were evolved into distinct communities of their own with unique multilingual sub-culture and identity.
Many also left to work in the possessions of the French Empire via its holdings in Pondichéry in Réunion and the French Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe (see Malabars). A large mass of coolies and merchants was hired by the Dutch colonial government in the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) to work in East Sumatra and Batavia (now Jakarta) via Nagapattinam and Pulicat ports. Roughly about 80,000 to 100,000 (est.) descendants of these immigrants are still exist in Medan, North Sumatra and Jakarta.
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 Tamils from India and Sri Lanka migrated to the Crown colony of Singapore and British Malaya as laborers, army clerks and merchants.
Twentieth century Return migration from Sri Lanka and Burma During and after the devastation of WW2, many Tamils and other Indians from Burma fled to India to Manipur,Manipur - The People, webindia123.com 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 Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka 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 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.
Post-1983 dispersal of Sri Lankan Tamils 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. Although relatively recent in origin, this subgroup had well-established communities in these host countries prior to the 1983 pogroms.
20th century dispersal of Tamils from India
In the second half of the 20th century, Tamils from India migrated as skilled professionals to various parts of India and countries like UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UK, USA, Singapore and so on. Some of them got citizenship of respective countries but still having strong family and cultural ties with Tamil Nadu, than those who migrated before 1950, who lost touch with their ancestral links in Tamil Nadu.
By region Africa Mainland Africa
There is a significant number of Tamils in Africa, especially Kenya. At least 30% of the Tamils in Africa live in Kenya, followed by Uganda. Most of these people are migrants, while some have been living there for generations.
South Africa
Tamil migration to South Africa started as from 1860, first as indentured labor and in the first batch 340 Tamils were there. Now there are more than 250,000 Tamils spread over in many cities, the concentration being in Natal and Durban.
In South Africa the Tamil Language can be taken in many schools as a Second Additional Language, It is recognised as a level 4 subject and carries points for entrance into university.
Indian Ocean islands Mauritius
Mauritius has a Tamil population of 80,000. 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. Tamil culture has flourished in Mauritius. Since 1835, the Tamil community has built almost 125 Tamil temples and Murugan is a popular deity. Tamil holidays and festivals such as Tamil New Year Varusha Pirapu, Pongal, Timiti and Thaipusam are celebrated on a national level. Thiruvalluvar and Bharathi days are also celebrated while Deepavali, Thaipusam, Maha Shivaratri and Pongal are public holidays. But most of the people in Mauritius do not speak Tamil.
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
Réunion
Tamil settlement in the French department of Réunion started as far back as 1848 as indentured labor, mainly from Pondichéry and Karaikal, the French territories in Southern India. There are now about 126,000 Tamils living in Réunion or "Malabars" as they are known there with many Hindu temples run by voluntary organisations where Hindu and Tamil cultural links are preserved well.
Seychelles
Tamil traders from Pondicherry used to visit the Seychelles for purposes of timber trade followed by settlements of Tamils from Tamil Nadu for trading purposes. Later, a trading community was in place here mainly of Tamils and many of them got integrated with the local community. Now there about 4000 Tamils in the trading business as well as in other professions.
Americas North America Canada
As per the 2021 Canadian census, Tamil Canadians number approximately 240,000 and account for roughly 0.7% of Canada's population. A large majority of Tamil Canadians consist of Sri Lankan Tamils. The 2021 census also recorded Tamil as the largest South Asian mother tongue in Toronto. While Tamil populations exist in all provinces and territories, the largest concentrations exist in Southern Ontario, Lower Mainland, and Calgary-Edmonton Corridor. Since the 1970s, Tamils have opened numerous businesses, shops, places of worship, and service-based organizations that cater to the community. They also host yearly major events, such as street festivals and cultural events. Several Tamil cinema celebrities have hosted major musical and film-based events in major Canadian cities.
United States
Central New Jersey contains the largest population concentration of Indian Americans of Tamil descent. Sizeable populations of Indian American Tamils have also settled in New York City, and New Jersey and New York house separate Tamil Sangams. The Washington, D.C. metropolitan area on the East Coast as well as Silicon Valley on the West Coast also have Tamil associations. 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.
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.
Caribbean French West Indies
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. There are about 36,000 ethnic Tamils in Guadeloupe and 15,000 in Martinique but the language has been lost there. Presently a microscopic minority of 17 who are in the age range 60-70 could speak the Tamil language.
Guyana