Myanmar Tamils
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Myanmar Tamils or Burmese Tamils are people of ethnic Tamil ancestry who reside in Myanmar. Tamils form majority among Indians in Myanmar (Burma).
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1,000,000 - 1,500,000 2.5 - 3.0% of the Burmese population | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Mainly in Lower Burma and Mandalay | |
| Languages | |
| Burmese, Tamil | |
| Religion | |
| Majority: Hinduism (with significant influences from Buddhism) Minority: Islam · Christianity · Buddhism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Indian Tamils, Malaysian Tamils, Singapore Tamils and Tamil diaspora |
Tamils had the earliest contact with Myanmar during the first-second century CE.[1] The Tamil Chola empire had trade relationships with various Burmese kingdoms.[2] The large Tamil migration to Myanmar began during the British colonial era. Historically, Burmese Tamils have made their livelihoods as merchants, traders, and shopkeepers as well as manual laborers such as indentured laborers (pejoratively called "coolies"); dockers, municipal workers, rickshaw men, and pony cart drivers. They were also heavily represented in certain professions such as civil servants, university lecturers, pharmacists, opticians, lawyers, engineers, and doctors. According to a report from 1966, there were 200,000 Tamils in Myanmar.[1] Since the Second World War, the number of Tamils has declined dramatically and many fled back to India and other countries such as Malaysia and Singapore. The Burma Bazaar in Tamil Nadu was set up in 1969 by Myanmar Tamil refugees.
Between 1940 and 1942 many Malaysian and Myanmar Tamils were forced by Japanese occupiers to labour on a 415 kilometres (258 mi) railway track between Thailand and Burma. Over 150,000 Tamils died during the project by poisonous animals, illnesses, exhaustion and Japanese torture.[3]
The majority of the Tamils in Myanmar are Hindus. and there are many Tamil Hindu temples in and around Yangon (Rangoon). There are many Tamil Hindu temples in and around Lower Burma region too. Many Myanmar Tamils have a Burmese name and some don't speak Tamil well or fluently, but they work to preserve their Tamil identity. Tamil community (along with other ethnic groups and races) sometimes faces discrimination in Myanmar but very less than other ethnic groups like the Rohingya people and Muslims.[4]
After he seized power through a military coup in 1962, General Ne Win ordered a large-scale expulsion of Tamils. Although many Tamils had been living in Burma for generations and had integrated into Burmese society, they became a target for discrimination and oppression by the junta. This, along with a wholesale nationalisation of private ventures in 1964, led to the emigration of over 300,000 ethnic Tamils from Burma.[citation needed] Many Tamils returned and were given 175 kyat for their trip to India. This caused a significant deterioration in Indian-Burmese relations and the Indian government arranged ferries and aircraft to lift Burmese of Tamil ethnicity (also other ethnic Indian) out of Burma.[5]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ a b Historical Dictionary of the Tamils (2007), Vijaya Ramaswamy, 258p.
- ^ My Myanmar Years: A Diplomat’s Account of India’s Relations with the Region (2015), Preet Malik, 3 introduction
- ^ "The real Kwai killed over 1.50 lakh Tamils". The Hindu. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017
- ^ "Myanmar's Tamil community works to maintain their culture". Mizzima.com. 13 February 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017
- ^ "India and Burma: working on their relationship". The Irrawaddy. Vol. 7, no. 3. March 1999. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
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| Chin (53) | |
| Bamar (Burman) (9) | |
| Mon (1) | |
| Rakhine (Arakanese) (7) |
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| Shan (33) | |
| Unrecognised / Others | |
- Tamil diaspora by country
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