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A British Tamil is a Briton of Tamil descent. The term "British Tamil" overlaps with the terms Indian British and Sri Lankan British. The Tamil immigration to the United Kingdom is a phenomenon that has been occurring for decades, and refers to the immigration of Tamil people from the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) and the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. There are more Sri Lankan Tamils in the UK than South Indian Tamils, though overall Sri Lankan Tamils comprise less than 5% of the global Tamil population. Tamils in the UK are mainly found living in its capital city, London. In 2001, 66,330 Sri Lankan-born people were residing in the United Kingdom (49,932 in London).[1] 2005 estimates state that 309,700 ethnically South Asians (besides Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis) resided in England, the vast majority of these are likely to be Sri Lankans which means in 2008 for the United Kingdom as a whole, including those born in Ceylon with Tamil heritage, there are likely to be around 300,000 Sri Lankan Tamil Britons.[2] Indian Tamils in the United Kingdom trace their origins back to the Indian state of Tamil Nadu where an estimated 60,793,814 Tamils reside.
[edit] Notable British Tamils
- George Alagiah (1955-), journalist
- Anton Balasingham (1938-2006), chief political strategist
- Krishnan Guru-Murthy (1970-), journalist
- Amara Karan (1984-), actress
- Dimitri Mascarenhas (1977-), cricketer
- M.I.A. (Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, 1977-), singer/songwriter
- Susheela Raman (1973-), musician
- Eliyathamby Ratnasabapathy (1938-2006), rebel
- Suthan Tamilake (1987-), musician
- Vernon G. Segaram (1986-), musician
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Lead View Table {Country of Birth}
- ^ Lead View Table {Resident Population Estimates by Ethnic Group, All Persons}
