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 Jaffna kingdom (Tamil: யாழ்ப்பாண அரசு, Sinhala: යාපනය රාජධානිය; 1215–1619 CE), also known as Kingdom of Aryachakravarti, was a historical kingdom of what today is northern Sri Lanka. It came into existence around the town of Jaffna on the Jaffna peninsula and was traditionally thought to have been established after the invasion of Kalinga Magha from Kalinga in India. Established as a powerful force in the north, northeast and west of the island, it eventually became a tribute-paying feudatory of the Pandyan Empire in modern South India in 1258, gaining independence when the last Pandyan ruler of Madurai was defeated and expelled in 1323 by Malik Kafur, the army general of the Delhi Sultanate. For a brief period in the early to mid-14th century it was an ascendant power in the island of Sri Lanka, to which all regional kingdoms accepted subordination. However, the kingdom was overpowered by the rival Kotte kingdom around 1450 when it was invaded by Prince Sapumal under the orders of Parakramabahu VI.

It gained independence from Kingdom of Kotte control in 1467, and its subsequent rulers directed their energies towards consolidating its economic potential by maximising revenue from pearls, elephant exports and land revenue. It was less feudal than most of the other regional kingdoms on the island of Sri Lanka of the period. During this period, important local Tamil literature was produced and Hindu temples were built, including an academy for language advancement. The Sinhalese Nampota dated in its present form to the 14th or 15th century CE suggests that the whole of the Jaffna Kingdom, including parts of the modern Trincomalee District, was recognised as a Tamil region by the name Demala-pattanama (Tamil city). In this work, a number of villages that are now situated in the Jaffna, Mullaitivu and Trincomalee districts are mentioned as places in Demala-pattanama. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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Karthik in 2017

Krishnakumar Dinesh Karthik (born 1 June 1985) is an Indian professional cricketer and commentator who plays for the India national cricket team and currently in Indian Premier League playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore. He is also the current captain of the Tamil Nadu cricket team in domestic cricket. He made his debut for the Indian cricket team in 2004. Karthik has become the 4th Indian batsman to play 300 T20 matches. Karthik was a member of the team that won both the inaugural 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.

He made his maiden Test century against Bangladesh and was India's leading scorer in their Test tour of England, helping India win their first series in England in 21 years. After a drop in form in September 2007, Karthik was dropped from the Test team. He has made only sporadic international appearances since then, although he continues to play domestically. Between 2018 and 2020, he was the captain of IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders. Karthik has also worked occasionally as a commentator/pundit for British channel Sky Sports between 2020 and 2021, most notably during India's tour of England. (Full article...)

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Topics

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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