Indegenous Sri Lankan Tamils 12.6% . Tamils of Indian Origin (Mainly lIving in the Central Highlands and Colimbo and broung in by the British in the mid 19th Century ) 5.7 &. Tamil Muslims 7.4% ( These Tamil speaking Muslims do not idetify themselve as Tamils but by their religion. 70% live in the Traditional Sinhala areas and 30 % in the Tamil districts mainly in the East. They have somoe Arab/Persian blood but aorund 90% of thier blood is Tamil/Dravidian. Arab trders setteld in the coastal areas and amrreid local women at that time the coastal districts of Sri Lanka spoke Tamil. later many Tamil Muslims migratd from the state of Kerala and Tamil Nadu especially after the fall of Tippu Sultan, and these merged into one community.) Genrally there is quite a lot mutual distrust and suspicion between the Hindu/Christian Tamils and between the these Tamil Muslims. At eh Time of independence and until around the arely 1960 . the Tamil population in Sri lanka was 25% ( this excludes the Tamil Muslims). This has been stradliy dscling because of large scale migration due ot discrimination. I am a Jaffan Tamil Christian who lived in Colombo and in 1983 our house was burn by sinhalse mobs and even some of our so called friendly Neihbours were enciragingthis mobs( despits living there for 30 years) A senior and famous government minister was supervising these mobs. An our house was almost opposite the Police station. I have close relatives who are Singhalese. Tamils only liv ein Colomb
