Other Spellings / Synonyms: Tamilian,
Tamilians, Tamilars
Religion : Hinduism. Some Tamils follow Christianity, Islam,
Jainism
Language : Tamil
Regional Spread : In India Tamils are mainly found in Tamil
Nadu. A significant Tamil population is also found in union
territory of Pondicherry, Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra. Outside
India, Tamils are spread in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Canada, United
Kingdom, United States, Singapore, South Africa, Guyana, Réunion,
Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago.
Traditional Occupation : Agriculture, Fishing
Population : 74 million (1997 estimate)
Food Habits : Tamil people savor both vegetarian and
non-vegetarian food. A typical Tamil meal consists of rice, lentils,
grains and vegetables. Tamil cuisine is full of spices and
condiments. Coconut, tamarind and asafoetida goes as a ritual in
almost all vegetarian recipes. Coconut oil is normally used as the
medium of cooking.
Marriage Preference :Marry strictly within their caste and
community.
Related Ethnic Groups : Dravidian people, Brahui people,
Kannadigas, Malayalis, Tamils, Telugus, Tuluvas, Gonds
Famous Personalities:
- Politics : APJ Abdul
Kalam (President of India), Kamaraj, Dr. C Subramaniam, C
Rajagopalachari, M. Karunanidhi, M.G. Ramachandran (MGR), P.
Chidambaram, J Jayalalithaa.
- Science : Sir C Venkata
Raman (Nobel Laureate), Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (Nobel
Laureate), Dr R. Chidambaram, Dr K Kasturirangan, Dr Sivathanu
Pillai, Dr MS Swaminathan, Srinivasa Ramanujan, M Annadurai.
- Sports : Viswanathan
Anand, Narain Karthikeyan, Mahesh Bhupathi, Vijay Amritraj,
Ramesh Krishnan, K Srikanth, Srinivas Venkataraghavan,
Lakshmipathy Balaji, Nasser Hussain, Dhanraj Pillay
- Industrialists : Shiv
Nadar, Indra Nooyi, S Ramadorai, JY Pillay
- Arts : Subramanya
Bharathy, M.S. Subbulakshmi, Ilayaraaja, Sivaji Ganesan,
Maniratnam, A. R. Rahman, Kamal Hasan, Rajinikanth
About Tamil People : Tamils are ethnically,
linguistically and culturally related to the other Dravidian peoples
of South Asia. The Tamil identity is primarily linguistic, with
Tamils being those whose first language was Tamil. In recent times,
however, the definition has been broadened to include also emigrants
of Tamil descent who maintain Tamil cultural traditions, even when
they no longer speak the language. The oldest Tamil communities are
those of southern India and northeastern Sri Lanka. A number of
Tamil emigrant communities are scattered around the world,
especially in central Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Fiji,
Mauritius and South Africa. Tamil emigrants are also found in
Australia, Canada, and parts of Europe. Tamil people have an
established caste system. The traditional differentiations in them
are a lot more pronounced than in many other communities of the
country
