Queryspace - how much community in tamilnadu???

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Dec 26, 2006, 7:14 am

how much community in tamilnadu???

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Dec 29, 2006,2:57 am

Tamil people
 
 
 Total population 74,000,000 (1997 estimate)
 Regions with significant populations India: 63,000,000
 
 Sri Lanka: 3,600,000
 Malaysia: 1,500,000
 Singapore: 250,000
 
 
 Language : Tamil
 Religion : Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Jainism
 Related ethnic groups Dravidian people :
 1.Brahui people
 2.Kannadigas
 3.Malayalis
 4.Tamils
 5.Telugus
 6.Tuluvas
 7.Gonds
 
 The Tamil people are an ethnic group from the Indian subcontinent with a recorded history going back more than two millennia. The oldest Tamil communities are those of southern India and north-eastern Sri Lanka. There are also a number of Tamil emigrant communities scattered around the world, especially in central Sri Lanka, Malaysia, South Africa and Singapore, with more recent emigrants found in Australia, Canada, the United States, and Europe. There are an estimated 74 million Tamils around the world.
 
 The art and architecture of the Tamil people has one of the oldest traditions in the world. The music, dance, the temple architecture and the stylised sculptures favoured by the Tamil people are still being learnt and practiced. The classical language of Tamil, one of the oldest languages in India, has the oldest extant literature amongst other Dravidian languages.
 
 Unlike many ethnic groups, Tamils were not governed by a single political entity during most of their history; Tamilakam, the traditional name for the Tamil lands, was politically united for a brief period only between the 9th and 12th centuries under the Chola Empire. The Tamil identity is primarily linguistic, with Tamils being those whose first language is Tamil. In recent times the definition has been broadened to include emigrants of Tamil descent who maintain Tamil cultural traditions, even if they no longer regularly speak the language. Tamils are ethnically, linguistically and culturally related to the other Dravidian peoples of the Indian subcontinent.
 
 
 History
 
 The origins of the Tamil people, like those of the other Dravidian peoples, are unknown, although genetic and archaeological evidence suggest a possible migration into India around 6000 BCE. Connections with the Elamite people of ancient Iran have been suggested, but there is little evidence to support this view. It has also been suggested that the people of the Indus Valley Civilization were either Tamil or another Dravidian people, but this theory is controversial and there is at present no academic consensus on the identity of the Indus people.
 
 The earliest clear evidence of the presence of the Tamil people in modern Tamil Nadu are the megalithic urn burials, dating from around 1000 BCE and onwards, which have been discovered at various places in Tamil Nadu, notably in Adichanallur. These burials conform to the descriptions of funerals in classical Tamil literature in a number of details, and appear to be concrete evidence of the existence of Tamils in southern India during that period. Recent excavations at these sites have also provided samples of early Tamil writing, dating back to at least 500 BCE.
 
 
 Classical period
 Around the third century BCE onwards, three royal dynasties—the Cholas, the Cheras and the Pandyas—rose to dominate the ancient Tamil country. Each of these dynasties had its own realm within the Tamil-speaking region. Classical literature and inscriptions also describe a number of Velirs, or minor chieftains, who collectively ruled over large parts of central Tamil Nadu. Wars between the kings and the chieftains were frequent, as were wars with ancient Sri Lanka. These wars appear to have been fought to assert hegemony and demand tribute, rather than to subjugate and annex those territories. The kings and chieftains were patrons of the arts, and a significant volume of literature exists from this period. The literature shows that many of the cultural practices that are considered peculiarly Tamil date back to the classical period.
 
 Agriculture was important during this period, and there is evidence that irrigation networks were built. Both internal and external trade flourished. There is evidence of significant contact with the ancient Rome. Large hoards of Roman coins and evidence of the presence of Roman traders have been discovered at Karur and Arikamedu. There is also evidence that at least two embassies were sent to the Roman Emperor Augustus by Pandya kings. Potsherds with Tamil writing have also been found in excavations on the Red Sea, suggesting the presence of Tamil merchants there. An anonymous 1st century traveler's account written in Greek, Periplus Maris Erytraei, describes the ports of the Pandya and Chera kingdoms and the trade with them in substantial detail. Perplus also indicates that the chief exports of the ancient Tamils were pepper, malabathrum, pearls, ivory, silk, spikenard, diamonds, sapphires, and tortoiseshell.
 
 The classical period ended around the fourth century CE with invasions by Kalabhra, referred to as the kalappirar in Tamil literature and inscriptions. These invaders are described as evil kings and barbarians coming from lands to the north of the Tamil country. This period, commonly referred to as the dark age of the Tamil country, ended with the rise of the Pallava dynasty.
 
 Although the Pallava records are found from the third century, they did not rise to prominence as an imperial dynasty until the sixth century. The dynasty does not appear to have been Tamil in origin although they rapidly adopted Tamil ways and the Tamil language. The Pallavas sought to model themselves after great northern dynasties such as the Mauryas and Guptas. They therefore transformed the institution of the kingship into an imperial one, and sought to bring vast amounts of territory under their direct rule. The Pallavas were initially Buddhists, but later converted to Hinduism. They encouraged the Bhakti movement, which had risen to counter the growing influence of Jainism and Buddhism. The Pallavas pioneered building large, ornate temples in stone which formed the basis of the Dravidian temple architecture.
 
 The Pallava dynasty was overthrown in the 9th century by the resurgent Cholas and Pandyas. The Cholas become dominant in the 10th century and established an empire covering most of southern India and Sri Lanka. The empire had strong trading links with China and Southeast Asia. The Cholas navy conquered the southasian kingdom of Sri Vijaya in Sumatra and went on as far as Thailand and Burma. Chola power declined in the 12th and 13th centuries, and the Pandya dynasty enjoyed a brief period of resurgence thereafter during the rule of Sundara Pandya, but repeated Muslim invasions from the 15th century onwards placed a huge strain on the empire's resources, and the dynasty came to an end in the 16th century.
 
 The western Tamil lands became increasingly politically distinct from the rest of the Tamil lands after the Chola and Pandya empires lost control over them in the 13th century. They developed their own distinct language and literature, which increasingly grew apart from Tamil, evolving into the modern Malayalam language by the 15th century.
 
 
 No major empires arose thereafter, and Tamil Nadu was for a while ruled by a number of different local chiefs, such as the Nayaks of the modern Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh regions. From the 17th century onwards, European powers began establishing settlements and trading outposts in the region. A number of battles were fought between the British, French and Danish in the 18th century, and by the end of the 18th century most of Tamil Nadu was under British rule.
 
 Tamils in Sri Lanka
 
 There is little consensus on the history of the Tamil-speaking parts of Sri Lanka prior to the Chola period. Some Sinhala historians argue that there was no organised Tamil presence in Sri Lanka until the invasions from southern India in the 7th century, whereas many Tamil historians contend that Tamils are the original inhabitants of the island. The historical evidence is not conclusive either way.
 
 The historical record does establish that the Tamil kingdoms of India were closely involved in Sri Lankan affairs from a very early date. There is evidence of Tamil traders in Anuradhapura from an early date. Tamil adventurers invaded the island as far back as 100 BCE. Tamil wars against Sri Lanka culminated in the Chola annexation of the island in the 10th century, which lasted until the latter half of the eleventh century.
 
 The decline of Chola power in Sri Lanka was followed by the re-establishment of the Polonnaruwa monarchy in the late eleventh century. In 1215, the Arya Chakaravarthi dynasty established an independent Jaffna kingdom in the Jaffna peninsula and parts of northern Sri Lanka. The Arya Chakaravarthi expansion into the south was halted by Alagakkonara, a Tamil in the service of the Sinhalese monarch. Alagakkonara built a fortress at Kotte, and held the Arya Chakravarthi army there while he defeated the invading fleet at Panadura, southwest of Kotte. A descendent of Alagakkonara (Tamil-Alagakonar) later became King of the Sinhalese, but this line was deposed by the Ming admiral Cheng Ho (Zheng He) in 1409. The Arya Chakaravarthi dynasty ruled over large parts of northeast Sri Lanka until 1619, when it was conquered by the Portuguese. The coastal areas of the island was then taken by the Dutch, and in 1796 these became part of the British Empire.
 
 
 Modern period
 
 The British colonists consolidated the Tamil territory in southern India into the Madras Presidency, which was integrated into British India. Similarly, the Tamil parts of Sri Lanka were joined with the other regions of the island in 1802 to form the Ceylon colony. They remained in political union with India and Sri Lanka after their independence, in 1947 and 1948 respectively.
 
 When India became independent in 1947, Madras Presidency became the Madras State, comprised of present-day Tamil Nadu, coastal Andhra Pradesh, northern Kerala, and the southwest coast of Karnataka. The state was subsequently divided up along linguistic lines. In 1953 the northern districts formed Andhra Pradesh. Under the States Reorganization Act in 1956, Madras State lost its western coastal districts. The Bellary and South Kanara districts were ceded to Mysore state, and Kerala was formed from the Malabar district and the former princely states of Travancore and Cochin. In 1968, Madras State was renamed Tamil Nadu.
 
 There was some initial demand for an independent Tamil state following the adoption of the federal system. However, the Indian constitution in practice granted significant autonomy to the states, and, protests by Tamils in 1963 led to the government adopting a new policy called the "three language formula". This has led to Tamils in India becoming increasingly satisfied with the federal arrangement, and there is very little support for secession or independence today.
 
 In Sri Lanka, however, the unitary arrangement led to the slow growth of a feeling amongst Tamils that they were being discriminated against by the Sinhalese majority. This resulted in a demand for federalism, which in the 1970s grew into a movement for an autonomous Tamil country. The situation deteriorated into civil war in the early 1980s. A ceasefire in effect since 2002 broke down in August, 2006 amid shelling and bombing from both sides.
 
 
 Geographic distribution
 
 Indian Tamils
 Most Indian Tamils live in the state of Tamil Nadu. Tamils are in majority in the union territory of Pondicherry, a former French colony. Pondicherry is a subnational enclave situated geographically within Tamil Nadu. There are also Tamil communities in other parts of India. Most of these are fairly recent, dating to the colonial and post-colonial periods, but some—particularly the Hebbar and Mandyam Tamils of southern Karnataka, the Tamils of Palakkad in Kerala, and the Tamils of Pune, Maharashtra—date back to at least the medieval period. The tribe of Irulas, who inhabit in the northern districts of Tamil Nadu are famous for their profession of snake and rat catching.
 
 
 
 Sri Lankan Tamils
 
 Most Hill Country Tamils in Sri Lanka still work on tea plantations similar to this one near Nuwara Eliya.There are today two groups of Tamils in Sri Lanka. The first are the Sri Lankan Tamils, who are descended from the Tamils who lived in the old Jaffna kingdom or who migrated to the East coast. The second are the Indian origin Tamils or Hill Country Tamils, who are descended from bonded labourers sent from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka in the 19th century to work in tea plantations there. Ceylon Tamils mostly live in the northern and eastern provinces, whereas hill-country Tamils largely live in the central highlands. The hill-country Tamils and Ceylon Tamils historically have seen themselves as separate communities. In 1949, the United National Party Government, which included G. G. Ponnambalam, a leader of the Tamil Congress and of the Sri Lankan Tamils, stripped the Indian Tamils of their nationality, including their right to vote. Prominent Tamil political leaders such as S. J. V. Chelvanayakam and his Tamil opposition party opposed this move.
 
 Under an agreement between the Sri Lankan and Indian governments in the 1960s, around 40% of hill-country Tamils were granted Sri Lankan nationality, and many of the remainder were repatriated to India. However, the ethnic conflict has led to the growth of a greater sense of common Tamil identity, and the two groups are now more supportive of each other. By the 1990s most Indian tamils had received Sri Lankan citizenship.
 
 There is also a significant Tamil-speaking Muslim population in Sri Lanka. Unlike Tamil-speaking Muslims from India, however, they do not identify themselves as ethnic Tamils and are therefore usually listed as a separate ethnic group in official statistics. Those of Indian origin (Indian Moors) are rarely listed separately from those of Sri Lankan origin.
 
 
 Tamil emigrant communities
 
 Significant Tamil emigration began in the 18th century, when the British colonial government sent many poor Tamils as indentured labourers to far-off parts of the Empire, especially to Malaya, South Africa, Fiji, Mauritius and the Caribbean. About the same time, many Tamil businessmen also emigrated to other parts of the British Empire, particularly to Burma and East Africa. Many Tamils still live in these countries, and the Tamil communities in Singapore, Reunion Island, Malaysia and South Africa have retained much of their culture and language. Many Malaysian children attend Tamil schools, and a significant portion of Tamil children in Mauritius, Reunion and Singapore are brought up with Tamil as their first language. To preserve the Tamil language, the Singapore government has made it a national language despite the fact that Tamils make up only about 4.2% of the population, and has also introduced compulsory instruction on the language for Tamils. Other Tamil communities, such as those existing in South Africa, no longer speak Tamil as a first language, but still retain a strong Tamil identity.
 
 A large emigration also began in the 1980s, as Sri Lankan Tamils sought to escape the ethnic conflict there. These recent emigrants have most often fled to Australia, Europe, North America and Southeast Asia.[15] Today, the largest concentration of Tamils outside southern Asia is in Toronto, Canada.
 
 During the period 1950-1990, a large number of Tamil Brahmin professionals emigrated to Western countries, partly to seek better opportunities, and partly because of the systematic denial of opportunities in Tamil Nadu, due to caste-based reservations in education and jobs.
 
 Many young Tamil professionals from India have also emigrated to Europe and the United States in recent times in search of better opportunities. These new emigrant communities have established cultural associations to protect and promote Tamil culture and language in their adopted homes.

Dec 29, 2006,3:31 am

Population: 61,527,000 in India (1997).
 
 Population total all countries: 66,020,200.
 
 Language:
 Tamil Nadu and neighboring states. Also spoken in Bahrain, Fiji, Germany, Malaysia (Peninsular), Mauritius, Netherlands, Qatar, Réunion, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom.
 
 Alternate names:
 Tamalsan, Tambul, Tamili, Tamal, Damulian
 
 Dialects:
 Adi Dravida, Aiyar, Aiyangar, Arava, Burgandi, Kongar, Madrasi, Pattapu Bhasha, Tamil, Sri Lanka Tamil, Malaya Tamil, Burma Tamil, South Africa Tamil, Tigalu, Harijan, Sanketi, Hebbar, Mandyam Brahmin, Secunderabad Brahmin. Kasuva is a jungle group dialect and may not be intelligible with Tamil. Burgandi speakers are nomadic. Aiyar and Aiyangar are Brahmin dialects.
 
 Classification:
 Dravidian, Southern, Tamil-Kannada, Tamil-Kodagu, Tamil-Malayalam, Tamil
 
 Language use:
 State language of Tamil Nadu. 8,000,000 second-language speakers.
 
 Language development:
 Tamil script. Films. Bible: 1727–2002.
 
 Comments:
 SOV. Hindu, Muslim