Tamil immigration to Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan monarchs have used the services of South Indian labor for millennia. According to the Mahavamsa, service groups from the Pandyan kingdom[note 4] accompanied the settlement of Anuradhapura by Prakrit speakers. Epigraphic evidence describes traders and others self identifying as Damelas or Damedas (Sinhala and Sinhala prakrit for Tamils) in Anuradhapura and other areas of Sri Lanka as early as 2nd century BCE. The idea of looking upon the Demedas as aliens was not prevalent in the early historical period.[5][2]

Tamil mercenaries were brought to Anuradhapura by the Sinhalese rulers from the 5th century, and in ever larger numbers during the 7th-10th centuries CE. In the early stages they were brought for short periods and served political purposes, fighting on behalf of rulers whose positions were insecure or those who had aspirations of taking the throne.[3]

Rajaraja I created a town called Jananathamangalam (present day Polonnaruwa), near Anuradhapura and settled Velakkara (Maravar) and Agampadi (Agampu+adi) soldiers (Agammudayar), These two Castes were subdivisions of the Tamil Mukkulathor caste). They eventually assimilated to Sinhalese society. The Sinhalese family name Palihakkara (Palaikkarar) originated from the Velakkara soldiers and the suffix Agampodi in front of some names of the Salagama sub caste "Hewapanne"(militia) originated from the Agampadi soldiers, who married Salagama Hewapanne women, Large scale mercantile activity from peninsular India primarily came from the Coromandel Coast.[6]

The majority Sinhalese caste structure, which has no religious sanctions attached to it, has accommodated recent Hindu immigrants from South India leading to the emergence of three new Sinhalese caste groups-the Salagama, the Durava and the Karava.[7][8] This migration and assimilation happened until the eighteenth century.[7] Salagamas, whose caste legends allude to South India, came as Nambudiri Brahmins from Kerala, for the coronation ceremony of Vijayabahu I and for the coronation ceremony of Prince Wathhimi. Many worked as weavers and as mercenary soldiers (Agampadi soldiers). Agampadi soldiers (mercenaries who were deployed in the army and as coast guards from Dambeniya rule onwards) came from Tamil Nadu. Some were punished by the King of Kotte, who imposed a tax on cinnamon. Eventually some became cinnamon peelers. According to some historians this was begun in 1406 by the King of Kotte.[7] Another section is called "Hewapanne" or soldiers.

During the period of the Crisis of the Sixteenth Century and the arrival of the Portuguese to Sri Lanka also saw the migration of various Southern Indian and Tamil speaking groups in aid to their activities in trade and administration. The Bharatha people are descendants of Tamil speaking Paravar of Southern India who migrated to Sri Lanka under Portuguese rule during that time.[9] Several hundreds of converted Christian Bharathas were brought from the Indian mainland to the western shores of Sri Lanka by the Portuguese to wrest control on the pearl trade.[10][11]

Sri Lankan Chetties, Formerly considered a Sri Lankan Tamil caste, were also a class of Tamil speaking traders, who migrated from South India under Portuguese rule, and continued to during Dutch presence on the island.[12][13][14][15][16] They settled mostly in western Sri Lanka, especially in the ports of Colombo and Galle from the 16th century to mid 17th century.[17] Some of the Chetties in Northern Sri Lanka were absorbed into other communities, mainly in the Sri Lankan Vellalar community, considered a subcaste known as Chetty Vellalar.[18] The Chetties of Western Sri Lanka converted to Roman Catholicism under Portuguese rule while others converted to Anglicanism or Protestantism under Dutch rule and British rule.[19] Intermarriage and alliances between Sinhalese and Chetties were not uncommon thus many also got Sinhalised.

Like the Portuguese and Dutch, the British colonial period saw the transportation and migration of Tamils to Sri Lanka, but on a much larger scale. Indian Tamils were brought to Sri Lanka as indentured labourers during the 19th and 20th centuries to work on coffee, tea and rubber plantations owned by the British. Workers were recruited from around the Tamil Nadu cities of Tirunelveli, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai and Thanjavur in 1827 by Governor Edward Barnes on the request of George Bird, a pioneering planter.[20][21] Many died during their first few months of employment.[21] They were instrumental in the establishment of tea, rubber, coffee and coconut plantations and formed the bulk of the labour force of the plantation sector.[22][23] These Indian Tamils were separate from an already existing trading community of Indian Tamils who were not part of the plantation economy.[24]

Indian Tamils had been lumped together with Sri Lankan Tamils for the Sri Lankan Census from 1871 to 1901. Since 1911, Indian Tamils have been shown as a separate group, and revealed Indian Tamils constituting 12.9% of the total population, whereas Sri Lankan Tamils, who had lived in the country for centuries prior had a lesser population of 12.8%. Indian Tamils had formed the majority Tamil population in the country until the 1950s and 1960s when the Indian population was repatriated back to India.[22][25] Many Indian Tamils, after acquiring Sri Lankan citizenship, also declared themselves as Sri Lankan Tamils.[22]

Indian Moors were a grouping of people during the colonial period distinguished by their Muslim faith and whose origins traced back to the British Raj. Therefore, Indian Moors refer to a number of ethnic groups such as Memons, Bohra and Khoja. These groups tended to retain their own ancestral practices and language.[26] However the largest specific group were Tamils from South India.[27] Indian Moors shared a similar history to Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka, however due to their decline and smaller numbers the Indian Moors have either returned to India or have declared themselves as being classified as Sri Lankan Moors.