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{{Short description|Tamil people of Sri Lankan origin}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group = Sri Lankans in India
| population = ~200,000<ref>{{cite book|title=THE SRI LANKAN TAMIL DIASPORA AFTER THE LTTE|year=201|publisher=International Crisis Group|url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/asia/south-asia/sri-lanka/186%20The%20Sri%20Lankan%20Tamil%20Diaspora%20after%20the%20LTTE.ashx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100516033156/http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/asia/south-asia/sri-lanka/186%20The%20Sri%20Lankan%20Tamil%20Diaspora%20after%20the%20LTTE.ashx|archive-date=2010-05-16}}</ref>
| regions = [[Tamil Nadu]]{{·}}[[Kerala]]{{·}}[[Delhi]]{{·}}[[Puducherry (city)|Pondicherry]]{{·}}[[Maharashtra]]{{·}}[[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]]{{·}}[[Karnataka]]{{·}}[[Andhra Pradesh]]{{·}}[[Odisha]]{{·}}[[Chhattisgarh]]{{·}}[[West Bengal]]{{·}}[[Uttar Pradesh]]{{·}}[[Jharkhand]]{{·}}[[Bihar]]{{·}}[[Gujarat]]{{·}}[[Assam]]{{·}}[[Goa]]
| languages = [[Tamil language|Tamil]]{{·}}[[Sinhala language|Sinhala]]{{·}}[[English language|English]]
| religions = [[Hinduism]]{{·}}[[Roman Catholicism]]{{·}}[[Buddhism]]
| related = [[Sri Lankan people|Sri Lankan]]
| footnotes = <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/apr/14lanka.htm|title=Rediff on the NeT: Kerala is new sanctuary for fleeing Lankan Tamils}}</ref>{{·}}<ref name="southasiaanalysis.org">{{cite web |title=Travails of Sri Lankan Refugees |url=http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers29/paper2857.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080926232439/http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers29/paper2857.html | archive-date=2008-09-26 |url-status=usurped |date=24 September 2008}}</ref>{{·}}<ref name="thaindian.com">{{cite web |title=Close watch on Sri Lankan repatriates in Kerala |url=http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/close-watch-on-sri-lankan-repatriates-in-kerala_100195852.html |date=22 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090523162713/http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/close-watch-on-sri-lankan-repatriates-in-kerala_100195852.html |archive-date=2009-05-23 }}</ref>{{·}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Conditions in Sri Lankan Tamil refugee camps |url=http://www.pucl.org/Topics/International/2006/refugees-srilanka-report.html |date=18 June 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012084927/http://www.pucl.org/Topics/International/2006/refugees-srilanka-report.html |archive-date=2007-10-12}}</ref>
}}

'''Sri Lankans in India''' mainly refer to [[Sri Lankan Tamils|Tamil people of Sri Lankan origin]] in India and non resident Sri Lankans. They are partly who migrated to [[India]] and their descendants and mostly refugees from Sri Lanka because of the recently concluded [[Sri Lankan civil war|Sri Lankan Civil War]]. There is also a small population of [[Sinhalese people]] in India, numbering about 3,500 and mostly located in [[Delhi]] and [[Chennai]]. 57 Sri Lankans have become Indian citizens through [[Indian nationality law|naturalization]] since 2017. <ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-08-21|title=Amid CAA debate, RTI reveals Pakistanis got bulk of Indian citizenship since 2017|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/as-india-debates-caa-rti-reveals-pakistanis-got-bulk-of-indian-citizenship-since-2017/story-GaSt5u2kUiN4d3kEHIL37K.html|access-date=2020-09-12|website=Hindustan Times|language=en}}</ref> According to records with the [[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|Union Ministry of Home Affairs]], as on January 1,2021, there were 58,843 Sri Lankan refugees staying in 108 refugee camps in Tamil Nadu and 54 in Odisha.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/over-58-000-sri-lankan-72-000-tibetan-refugees-living-in-india-mha-122042700434_1.html|title=Over 58,000 Sri Lankan & 72,000 Tibetan refugees living in India: MHA}}</ref>

==History==
===Early arrivals===
During 19th century and early 20th century some [[Sri Lankan Tamils]] especially from [[Jaffna]] migrated or settled in India for various reasons such as [[education]], employment in the British Indian government, business and other reasons.

===Sri Lankan refugees===
The Sri Lankan refugees arrived in [[Tamil Nadu]] in four waves. The first wave on 24 July 1983, after [[Black July]], to the 29 July 1987 up until the [[Indo-Sri Lanka Accord]], 134,053 Sri Lankan Tamils arrived in India. The first repatriation took place after the signing of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord in 1987 and between 24 December 1987 and 31 August 1989, 25,585 refugees and non-camp Sri Lankan nationals returned to Sri Lanka. The second wave began with the start of [[Eelam War II]] after 25 August 1989, where 122,000 Sri Lankan Tamils came to Tamil Nadu. On 20 January 1992, after the assassination of [[Rajiv Gandhi]] 54,188 refugees were voluntarily repatriated to Sri Lanka, until March 1995. [[Eelam War III]] commenced in April 1995 starting the third wave or refugees. By 12 April 2002, nearly 23,356 refugees had come to Tamil Nadu. The flow of refugees had stopped in 2002 because of the cease fire agreement.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2009/11/focus-on-sri-lankan-tamil-refugees.html|title = Focus on the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees}}</ref>

==Demographics==
[[File:Sinhalese of India, Mumbai, India, 1897.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A Sinhalese man in [[Mumbai]], India, 1897]]
[[File:A Buddhist temple at Sarnath.jpg|thumb|right|Mulagandhakuti Vihara, [[Sri Lanka]]n Buddhist temple at [[Sarnath]]]]

===Tamil people===
{{Main|Sri Lankan Tamils in India}}
[[Sri Lankan Tamils]] in India number in the hundreds of thousands, mostly in the state of Tamil Nadu, the closest state to Sri Lanka and the easiest to get to. There is also a considerable number in the city of [[Trivandrum]], with around 2,700 refugee families.<ref name="southasiaanalysis.org"/><ref name="thaindian.com"/> There are also a number of Sri Lankan Tamils in the eastern regions of [[Orissa, India|Orissa]], [[Karnataka]] and [[Pondicherry (city)|Pondicherry]].

===Sinhalese people===
There are a small number of [[Sinhalese people]] in India, scattered all around the country, but mainly living in and around the [[North India|northern]] and [[South India|southern]] regions. [[Delhi]] has the largest concentration Sinhalese people in north India with 1,100, the states of Tamil Nadu, [[Maharashtra]] have 5,800 and 2,400 respectively. There are an estimated 2,000 families in the city of [[Chennai]], many of them who are employees of the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission or work for banking companies. Some are also pursuing higher education.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Sinhalese-are-shaken-by-violence-but-not-scared-to-live-in-Chennai/articleshow/7375482.cms | work=The Times Of India | title=Sinhalese are shaken by violence but not scared to live in Chennai - The Times of India | date=28 January 2011}}</ref> The [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]] and the state of [[Gujarat]] have 200 each while other states such as [[Andhra Pradesh]], Kerala, [[Karnataka]], [[West Bengal]], [[Jharkhand]] have populations ranging from 60 to 30 people.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

==Notable people==
* [[J. P. Chandrababu]]
* [[V. Kanakasabhai]]
* [[Balu Mahendra]]
* [[E. M. V. Naganathan]]
* [[Arumuka Navalar]]
* [[M. G. Ramachandran]]
* [[J. K. Rithesh]]
* [[Donald Rutnam]]
* [[Jacqueline Fernandez]]

==See also==
* [[List of Tamils of Sri Lanka#India|List of Sri Lankan Tamils in India]]
* [[Sri Lankan Tamil people]]
* [[Sri Lankan Tamils in Indian cinema]]
* [[Tamil diaspora]]
* [[Mandapam Camp]]
* [[India–Sri Lanka relations]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* {{cite book | last = Refugee Studies Centre | title = Srilankan Tamil refugees in India : a journey without end | publisher = Refugee Studies Centre | date = 1996-01-01 | location = INDIA }}
* {{cite book | last = Refugee Studies Centre | title = Srilankan Tamil refugees in India | publisher = Refugee Studies Centre |work = Rejiigw |volume= 13 |number= 3 |date=June 1993 | location = INDIA }}

==External links==
* [http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/sri-lankan-tamil-refugees-stage-hunger-strike-in-coimbatore_100150230.html Sri Lankan Tamil refugees stage hunger strike]
* [http://www.oferr.org/ OFERR]
* [http://www.ujaen.es/huesped/rae/articulos2007/acharya0907.pdf Sri Lankan refugees]
* [http://sinhaladic.com/ Sinhala Hindi English Dictionary and Sinhala To Hindi Language Translator]

{{Sri Lankan diaspora}}
{{Immigration to India}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sri Lankans In India}}
[[Category:Ethnic groups in India]]
[[Category:Diasporas in India]]
[[Category:Indian people of Sri Lankan descent]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan diaspora in Asia]]

Sri Lankans in India - Revision history

EdmundWyrick821: added info - done