Tamil people

The Tamil people are an ethnic group from South Asia with a recorded history going back more than two millennia. The oldest Tamil communities are those of southern India and northeastern Sri Lanka. There are also a number of Tamil emigrant communities scattered around the world, especially in Malaysia, Singapore, Fiji, Mauritius, and South Africa, with more recent emigrants also found in Australia, Canada, and parts of Europe.

Related Topics:
Ethnic - South Asia - Tamil - Southern India - Sri Lanka - Emigrant - Malaysia - Singapore - Fiji - Mauritius - South Africa - Australia - Canada - Europe

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Unlike many ethnic groups, the Tamils have never been governed by a single political entity; Tamizhagam, the traditional name for the Tamil lands, has always been under the rule of more than one kingdom or state. Despite this, the Tamil cultural identity has always been strong. Historically, this identity has been primarily linguistic, with Tamils being those whose first language was Tamil. In recent times, however, the definition has been broadened to include also emigrants of Tamil descent who maintain Tamil traditions, even when they no longer speak the language.

Related Topics:
Ethnic groups - Cultural identity - Linguistic - First language - Tamil

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Tamils are ethnically, linguistically and culturally related to the other Dravidian peoples of South Asia. There are an estimated 74 million Tamils around the world.

Related Topics:
Dravidian peoples - South Asia

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