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Tamils

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The Tamil people are a South Asian community numbering more than seventy million and living mostly in Tamil Nadu state and neighbouring areas in south-eastern India (65 million), in the north and east of Sri Lanka (three million), in Malaysia (two million), Singapore (approx 200,000) and Canada (approx 200,000, most in Toronto). There are also pockets of Tamil communities living in Madagascar, Seychelles Islands, Australia, South Africa, Mauritius, Trinidad and many European countries.

The spread of Tamils around the world has occurred in two stages - emigration (often forced) within the British Empire as workers, and refugees leaving Sri Lanka due to the ethnic conflict there.

Nearly all Tamils speak the Tamil language, one of the Dravidian tongues once spoken widely across the Indian subcontinent but now largely confined to its southern quarter. Tamils have a stronger ethno-linguistic identity than other Indian language groups and distinguish themselves from Indian groups speaking (Sanskrit-derived) Indo-Aryan languages.

Most Tamils are Hindu, with significant minorities being Christian or Muslim.

Tamils as Tamilians

Using the term Tamil to refer to people of Tamil origin is sometimes considered Anglicised; the more popular usage among Indians being the term Tamilians. (Singular: Tamilian).

The dialect of the Tamilians of Sri Lanka are considered to be the purest form of spoken Tamil.

Famous Tamilians