Portal:Tamils

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The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar (Tamil: தமிழர், romanized: Tamiḻar, pronounced [t̪amiɻaɾ] in the singular or தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, [t̪amiɻaɾɡaɭ] in the plural), Tamilians, or simply Tamils (/ˈtæmɪlz, ˈtɑː-/ TAM-ilz, TAHM-), are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group who natively speak the Tamil language and trace their ancestry mainly to India's southern state of Tamil Nadu, to the union territory of Puducherry, and to Sri Lanka. The Tamil language is one of the world's longest-surviving classical languages, with over 2000 years of Tamil literature, including the Sangam poems, which were composed between 300 BCE and 300 CE. People who speak Tamil as their mother tongue and are born in are considered Tamils.

Tamils constitute 5.9% of the population in India (concentrated mainly in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry), 15% in Sri Lanka (excluding Eelam Moors), 7% in Malaysia, and 5% in Singapore.

From the 4th century BCE, urbanisation and mercantile activity along the western and eastern coasts of Tamilakam -- what is today Kerala and Tamil Nadu -- led to the development of four large Tamil empires, the Cheras, Cholas, Pandyas, Pallavas, and velirs and a number of smaller states, all of whom were warring amongst themselves for dominance. The Jaffna Kingdom, and vanni chieftaincies inhabited by Eelam Tamils, was once one of the strongest kingdoms of Sri Lanka and controlled much of the north of the island. (Full article...)

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The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; Tamil: தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், romanized: Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, Sinhala: දෙමළ ඊලාම් විමුක්ති කොටි සංවිධානය, romanized: Demaḷa īlām vimukti koṭi saṁvidhānaya; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eelam in the northeast of the island in response to violent persecution and discriminatory policies against Sri Lankan Tamils by the Sinhalese-dominated Sri Lankan Government.

Its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran cited violent incidents of the 1958 anti-Tamil pogrom during his childhood that led him to militancy. In 1975, he assassinated the Mayor of Jaffna Alfred Duraiappah in revenge for the 1974 Tamil conference incident. The LTTE was subsequently founded in 1976 as a reaction to the Sri Lankan Constitution of 1972 which prescribed Buddhism as the primary religion of the country, and Sinhala language its national language. The LTTE was involved in attacks on government targets, policemen and local politicians and moved on to armed clashes against the armed forces. Oppression against Sri Lankan Tamils continued by Sinhalese mobs, notably during the 1977 anti-Tamil pogrom and the 1981 burning of the Jaffna Public Library. Following the week-long July 1983 anti-Tamil pogrom carried out by Sinhalese mobs that came to be known as Black July, the LTTE's escalation of intermittent conflict into a full-scale nationalist insurgency began, which started the Sri Lankan Civil War. By this time, the LTTE was widely regarded as the most dominant Tamil militant group in Sri Lanka and among the most feared guerrilla forces in the world. (Full article...)

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General images

Image 1Tamil girls dressed in traditional attire, ca. 1870, Tamil Nadu, India. (from Tamils)
Image 2A 400 years old hero stone in Salem depicting bull-taming sport Jallikattu. (from Tamils)
Image 3Aiyanar, guardian folk deity of Tamil Nadu (from Tamils)
Image 4Krishna with his consorts Rukmini and Satyabhama and his mount Garuda, Tamil Nadu, India, late 12th-13th century (from Tamils)
Image 5The Brihadeshswar Temple at Thanjavur, also known as the Great Temple, built by Rajaraja Chola I (from Tamils)
Image 6The New York City Metropolitan Area, including Central New Jersey, as well as Long Island and Staten Island in New York, is home to the largest Tamil American population. (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 7Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health in Velankanni, Tamil Nadu (from Tamils)
Image 8A Malbar temple in Réunion. (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 9 Virampatnam jewelry from funerary burial, 2nd century BCE, Tamil Nadu (from Tamils)
Image 10Two Tamil girls who follow Vaishnavaite Hinduism (from Tamils)
Image 11One of the most popular overseas branches of Chennai-based Saravanaa Bhavan, the world's largest Indian vegetarian restaurant chain, is located in Edison, New Jersey, U.S. (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 12Tamil woman in traditional attire, c. 1880, Sri Lanka. (from Tamils)
Image 13A Megalithic burial jar from north-western Sri Lanka, 5th-2nd century BCE, similar to South Indian and Deccan jars of the time. (from Tamils)
Image 14Batu Caves temple built by Tamil Malaysians in c. 1880s. (from Tamils)
Image 15The hall in front of Ranganayaki's shrine, Srirangam, where Kambar is said to have recited his works on Kamba Ramayanam (from Tamils)
Image 16Celebrations of Murugan by the Sri Lankan Tamil community in Paris, France (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 17Grey pottery with engravings, Arikamedu, 1st century CE (from Tamils)
Image 18Expatriate Sri Lankan Tamil children in traditional clothes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 19Erwadi durgah in Ramanathapuram district is a major pilgrimage shrine of the Tamil Muslims. (from Tamils)
Image 20Megalithic sarcophagus burial from Tamil Nadu (from Tamils)
Image 21The Mahishasuramardhini cave bas relief at Mahabalipuram from 7th century CE (from Tamils)
Image 22Tamil girls in Malaysia (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 23Distribution of Tamil speakers in South India and Sri Lanka (1981). (from Tamils)
Image 24Tamiḻakam during Sangam Period (from Tamils)
Image 25Katar, Tamil dagger which was popular throughout South Asia (from Tamils)
Image 26Bharatanatyam dancers (from Tamils)
Image 27Sri Kandaswamy Temple, Brickfields, Malaysia. (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 28The Om symbol in Tamil script (from Tamils)
Image 29Meenakshi Amman temple, dedicated to Goddess Meenakshi, tutelary deity of Madurai city (from Tamils)
Image 30Tamil people in Medan, Indonesia (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 31The golden Vimana over the sanctum at Srirangam midst its gopurams, its gable with Paravasudeva image. (from Tamils)
Image 32 Map of ancient oceanic trade, and ports of Tamilakam (from Tamils)
Image 33 Souttoukeny jewelry, 2nd century BCE, Tamil Nadu (from Tamils)
Image 34The Tamil Chola Empire at its height, 1030 CE (from Tamils)
Image 35Sage Agathiyar, one of the contributors of Old Tamil literature. (from Tamils)
Image 36Murugan Temple, Sydney (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 37Sri Kamakshi Ambaal temple in Hamm, Germany (from Tamil diaspora)

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Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai (15 September 1909 – 3 February 1969), popularly known as Anna, also known as Perarignar Anna (Anna, the scholar or Elder Brother), was an Indian politician who served as the fourth and last Chief Minister of Madras State from 1967 until 1969 and first Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for 20 days (after Madras State was renamed Tamil Nadu) before his death. He was the first member of a Dravidian party to hold either post.

He was well known for his oratorical skills and was an acclaimed writer in the Tamil language. He scripted and acted in several plays. Some of his plays were later made into movies. He was the first politician from the Dravidian parties to use Tamil cinema extensively for political propaganda. Born in a middle-class family, he first worked as a school teacher, then moved into the political scene of the Madras Presidency as a journalist. He edited several political journals and enrolled as a member of the Dravidar Kazhagam. As an ardent follower of Periyar E. V. Ramasamy, he rose in stature as a prominent member of the party. (Full article...)

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Tamil People

Tamil People Countrywide: India • Sri Lanka • Canada • Malaysia • Singapore • South Africa • England

Related Ethnic Groups: Brahui • Gond • Kannadiga • Khonds • Kodava • Oraon • Malayali • Telugus • Tuluvas

Related indigenous Groups: Badagas • Toda • Kuruba

Tamil Nadu

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