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{{Infobox ethnic group<br />
| group = Myanmar Tamils<br/>மியான்மர் தமிழர்கள் / பர்மா தமிழர்கள்<br />
| native_name = <br />
| native_name_lang = <br />
| image = <br />
| caption = <br />
| population = '''1,000,000 - 1,500,000'''<br/>2.5 - 3.0% of the Burmese population<br />
| popplace = Mainly in [[Lower Burma]] and [[Mandalay]]<br />
| langs = [[Burmese language|Burmese]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]]<br />
| rels = '''Majority:''' [[Hinduism]] (with significant influences from [[Buddhism]])<br/> '''Minority:''' [[Islam]] {{·}} [[Christianity]] {{·}} Buddhism<br />
| related_groups = <br />
| related-c = [[Tamil people|Tamils]], [[Sri Lankan Tamils]], [[Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka]], [[Malaysian Tamils]], [[Singapore Tamils]] and [[Tamil diaspora]]<br />
}}<br />
{{Tamils}}{{Short description|Ethnic community}}<br />
{{EngvarB|date=December 2018}}<br />
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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}'''Myanmar Tamils''' or '''Burmese Tamils''' are people of ethnic [[Tamils|Tamil]] ancestry who reside in [[Myanmar]]. Tamils form the majority of Indians in [[Myanmar]] (Burma).{{Contains special characters|Burmese}}<br />
[[File:Hindutempleyangon.jpg|thumb|[[Shri Kali Temple, Burma]], a Tamil [[Hindu temple]] with [[Dravidian architecture]] in [[Yangon]]]]<br />
[[File:Hindu woman in Myanmar, wearing thanakha.jpg|thumb|A Burmese-Indian Hindu woman wearing Pottu/[[Bindi (decoration)|Bindi]] and [[Thanaka]] which is worn by ethnic Burmese.]]<br />
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Tamils had the earliest contact with Myanmar during the first or second century CE.<ref name="Tamils 2007">Historical Dictionary of the Tamils (2007), Vijaya Ramaswamy, 258p.</ref> The Tamil [[Chola Dynasty|Chola empire]] had trade relationships with various Burmese kingdoms.<ref>My Myanmar Years: A Diplomat’s Account of India’s Relations with the Region (2015), Preet Malik, 3 introduction</ref> The massive Tamil migration to Myanmar began during the [[British Raj|British colonial era]]. Historically, Burmese Tamils made their livelihoods as merchants, traders, and shopkeepers as well as manual laborers such as indentured servants (pejoratively called "coolies"); dockers, municipal workers, rickshaw drivers, 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.<ref name="Tamils 2007"/> 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.<br />
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Between 1940 and 1942, many Malaysian and Myanmar Tamils were forced by Japanese occupiers to labour on a {{convert|415|km}} [[Burma Railway|railway track between Thailand and Burma]]. Over 150,000 Tamils died during the project due to venomous animals, illnesses, exhaustion and Japanese torture.<ref>{{cite news|title=The real Kwai killed over 1.50 lakh Tamils|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/The-real-Kwai-killed-over-1.50-lakh-Tamils/article14593113.ece|work=The Hindu|date=27 August 2016|access-date=30 January 2017}} Retrieved 30 January 2017</ref><br />
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The majority of Tamils in Myanmar are [[Hindus|Hindu]], and there are many Tamil Hindu temples in and around [[Yangon]] (Rangoon) as well as in [[Lower Burma]]. Many Myanmar Tamils have a Burmese name and some don't speak much [[Tamil language|Tamil]], but they work to preserve their Tamil identity. The Tamil community sometimes faces discrimination in Myanmar but much less so than the [[Rohingya people]] and [[Muslims]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Myanmar's Tamil community works to maintain their culture|url=http://www.mizzima.com/latest-news-life-news-features/myanmar%E2%80%99s-tamil-community-works-maintain-their-culture|work= Mizzima.com|date=13 February 2016|access-date=30 January 2017}} Retrieved 30 January 2017</ref><br />
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After he seized power through a [[1962 Burmese coup d'état|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.{{CN|date=November 2021}} 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 fly ethnic Tamils (and other ethnic Indians) out of Burma.<ref name="irrawaddy-1999">{{cite magazine |date=March 1999 | title=India and Burma: working on their relationship | url=http://www2.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=1170|magazine= The Irrawaddy |volume=7 |issue=3 |access-date=3 January 2014}}</ref><br />
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==See also==<br />
{{Portal|Tamils|Myanmar}}<br />
* [[Tamils]]<br />
* [[Burmese Indians]]<br />
* [[Hinduism in Myanmar]]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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{{Ethnic groups in Myanmar}}<br />
{{Tamil diaspora}}<br />
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[[Category:Tamil diaspora by country|Myanmar]]<br />
[[Category:Tamil diaspora in Asia|Myanmar]]<br />
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Myanmar]]</div>Terrence5904