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Concept
Tamil diaspora
Summary
The Tamil diaspora refers to descendants of the Tamil 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.
Sri Lankan TamilsSri Lankan ChettiesChittyBharatha peopleThigalaHebbar Iyengar and Kaikadi peopleKaikadi
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 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 Iyer of Kerala, Kaikadis of Maharashtra, Chittys of Malaysia and some section of the Sri Lankan Tamils such as the Sri Lankan Mukkuvars, the Sri Lankan Chetties, the Bharatha people, the Karava-speaking Sinhalese, the Durava, the Demala Gattara and the Salagama castes of Sri Lanka.
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.
Official source
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