Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora
| புலம்பெயர் ஈழத் தமிழர் | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Total population | |
| 887,000 (estimated) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Canada
|
~200,000 (2007) |
 United Kingdom
|
~120,000 (2007) |
 India
|
~100,000 (2005) |
 France
|
~100,000 (2008) |
 Germany
|
~60,000 (2008) |
 Switzerland
|
~50,000 (2008) |
 Malaysia
|
~24,436 (1970) |
 Netherlands
|
~20,000 (2008) |
 Norway
|
~10,000 (2000) |
 Denmark
|
~9,000 (2003) |
| Languages | |
| Tamil, English, Italian, French, Dutch, German | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Hinduism of Saivite sect with a Christian and Roman Catholic minority | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Indian Tamils · Portuguese Burghers · Sinhalese · Sri Lankan Moors · Veddas · Giraavarus · Dravidian people | |
The Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora refers to the global diaspora of Sri Lankan Tamil origin. It can be said to be a subset of the larger Sri Lankan and Tamil diaspora.
Like other diasporas, Sri Lankan Tamils are scattered and dispersed around the globe, with concentrations in South Africa, United Kingdom, Canada, India, Europe, Australia, United States, Malaysia, Singapore, Seychelles and Mauritius. Significant segments of the Tamil diaspora prefer to be labeled "Eelam" or "Eezham" Tamils, as a reference to an aspired separate Tamil state on the island of Sri Lanka.
Many of the Vellalar Jaffna Tamils availed themselves of the educational opportunities provided by the colonial authorities and missionaries, and earned many government posts offered to locals by the British. In foreign lands under British rule, the British needed obedient, trusted, hard-working and skillful people to take up government posts, mainly as clerks. This led to the first wave of migrations by the Tamils to countries such as Malaysia (then Malaya), Singapore and the then Madras Presidency in India.
Ceylonese Tamils made up an overwhelming majority in the civil service of British Malaya and Singapore prior to independence. It was in Malaysia and Singapore, that the term "Ceylonese" and "Jaffnese" were popularly used by the Sri Lankan Tamils to differentiate themselves from the larger Malaysian Indian and Indian Singaporean population who were predominantly of Tamil origin (but as of today, they are considered a sub-ethnic of these races in the respective national censuses of their adoptive countries due to the similarites of religion, ethnicity and language with the local ethnic Indian population of Tamil origin).
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Wikipedia