The Andaman Tamils are

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

-speaking people of the

Andaman and Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India comprising 572 islands, of which only 38 are inhabited. The islands are grouped into two main clusters: the northern Andaman Islands and the southern Nicobar Islands, separated by a ...

, commonly known as the

Madrasi ''Madrasi'', also spelled as ''Madrassi'', is a term used as a demonym in the past and a regional slur for people from southern India, usually used by those from northern India. In earlier usage it was a demonym to refer to the people of Madra ...

(after Madras, erstwhile name of

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

). There are three groups. The first are those who migrated from Tamil Nadu in search of livelihood and are found in almost all the islands where human beings are settled. The second are Tamil-speaking repatriates from

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

who migrated after the military junta came to power in the then Burma. The third group are Tamil-speaking repatriates from

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

who migrated after ethnic clashes began there. The population of the first group is largest and is still swelling as the migration continues. Andaman Tamils speak Tamil at home and use

Tamil script The Tamil script ( ) is an abugida script that is used by Tamils and Tamil language, Tamil speakers in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore and elsewhere to write the Tamil language. It is one of the official scripts of the Indian Republic. ...

when writing. With non-Tamils, they speak in a sort of local Hindi, often referred to as Andaman Hindi. Educated Tamils speak in English too. Most Andaman Tamils enjoy privileges under the category of "local" residents. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have about 100,000 Tamils.

Chola empire

In the 11th century CE,

Rajendra Chola I Rajendra I (26 July 971 – 1044), often referred to as Rajendra the Great, was a Chola Empire, Chola Emperor who reigned from 1014 to 1044. He was born in Thanjavur to Rajaraja I. His queen was Vanavan Mahadevi and he assumed royal power as ...

of the

Chola dynasty The Chola dynasty () was a Tamil dynasty originating from Southern India. At its height, it ruled over the Chola Empire, an expansive maritime empire. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd cen ...

Tamilakam Tamilakam () also known as ancient Tamil country as was the geographical region inhabited by the ancient Tamil people, covering the southernmost region of the Indian subcontinent. Tamilakam covered today's Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, La ...

invaded parts of South East Asia using the

as an intermediate naval base. It was part of an established Chola trade route connecting India and South East Asia, with the practice continuing in the subsequent years during the reigns of

Rajendra II Rajendra Chola II (997 CE – 1064 CE) often referred to as Rajendradeva Chola was a Chola emperor who reigned from 28 May 1052 to 1064. Rajendra II succeeded his brother Rajadhiraja I after his death at the Battle of Koppam.''The History a ...

and

Kulothunga I Kulottunga Chola I ('; Middle Tamil: Kulōttuṅka Cōḻaṉ; Classical Sanskrit: Kulottuṅgā Cōḷa; 1025–1122) also spelt Kulothunga (), born Rajendra Chalukya (Telugu language, Telugu: Rājēndra Cāḷukyuḍu), was a Chola empire, C ...

. Chola inscriptions from

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also known as Thanjai, previously known as Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 12th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of southern Indian religion, art ...

, dated to 1050 CE, describe the islands as ''Ma-Nakkavaram'' meaning "great open/naked land" in Tamil. The islands are later mentioned by Marco Polo in the 13th century CE and Friar Oderic in early 14th century CE.

Census

According to the information furnished by the Andaman and Nicobar Administration, the population of different linguistic groups recorded in the census of 1971 was as under: * Bengali 28114 * Nicobarese 17955 * Tamil 14518 * Hindi 13982 * Malayalam 13916 * Telugu 9361 * Urdu 2588 * Punjabi 1024 * Oriya 250 * Kannada 201 * Marathi 115 * Gujarati 159 * Assamese 17 * Sindhi 7 * Kashmiri 8 * Others 12918

References

Sources

*
History & Culture. The Andaman Islands with destination quide
* India Home Department. The Andaman Islands: with notes on Barren Island. C.B. Lewis, Baptist Mission Press, 185
read online or download

External links

Official Andaman and Nicobar Tourism website

Official Andaman District website
{{Portal bar, India, Tamils Culture of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands A A

Chola empire

Census

See also

References

Sources

External links