Tamils are an ethnic group of South Asian origin whose traditional homelands are in the north and east regions of Sri Lanka as well as southern India. The central component of Tamil ethnicity is the Tamil language. Presently, a large Tamil diaspora exists throughout the world, with notable populations in Canada, the United Kingdom and Singapore.

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The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), commonly referred to as “Tamil Tigers”, are an administrative and military force that control the north and east regions of Sri Lanka. The LTTE originally arose in the late 1970s and gained widespread recognition and support from the Tamil people after the horrific Sinhalese government-inspired pogroms in July of 1983. Since then, the LTTE has been steadily engaged in a militarized conflict with the Government of Sri Lanka. The LTTE are fighting for a separate Tamil homeland in northeastern Sri Lanka.

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Historically, Sri Lankan Tamils enjoyed separate rule from the Sinhalese population to the south. In the 19th century, British colonizers decided to unify teh island into one administration body for reasons of expediency and efficiency. Following independence in 1948, Tamils opted to form a single country with the Sinhalese, retaining the colonial borders. The nation of Sri Lanka, known as Ceylon prior to 1952, showed signs of immediate discrimination towards Tamils. Sinhala was adopted as the sole state language in 1956 and Tamils were prevented from holding positions in important offices or government. Discrimination turned to violence and, in an effort to end their suffering, Tamils have been struggling for an independent homeland for over two decades. It is clear beyond the shadow of a doubt that Tamils will never be equal citizens in a state that is dominated by a 75% Sinhalese majority.

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Tamils are often described as a pragmatic people. They felt that it was in their best interest, given the relatively minute stature and economic clout of the territory they occupied, to form a single country with the Sinhalese, despite being outnumbered by a 75% Sinhalese majority. Tamil leaders believed that they were acting in their people's best interest when they decided to retain the colonial border and share a nation with teh Sinhalese. Had they had even the slightest inkling of the violence and discrimination their people would later endure within a Sinhalese-dominated state, they would have likely opted to form an independent Tamil nation in the northeastern region of present-day Sri Lanka, no matter how tiny or economically feeble that nation might have initially been.

There are approximately 80 million (80, 000, 000) Tamils worldwide. A vast majority (65 million) live in India.

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There are 300,000 Tamil-Canadians. In fact, Toronto boasts the largest Tamil concentration outside of South Asia.

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There are close to 4 million (4, 000, 000) Tamils currently living in Sri Lanka.

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Tamil ethnicity is primarily linguistic, there is no official Tamil religion. Most Tamils practice Hinduism, although there are significant groups of Christian and Muslim Tamils.

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