Mr Akshay Gupta . The Sri Lankan Tamils who hail form the north and east are not recent migratns from India, but have lived in Sri lanka for thousands of years and are as native to the land as the Sinhalese. They ruled themselves for most of their history . It is the European colonists who created a country called Ceylon. The British did bring South Indian identured labour mainly from Tamil Nadu to work in the Tea and Rubber estates in SriLanka. They make up aorund 5.6% of the population and are still one of the poorest and most disadvanteged and most dicriminated people in SriLanka. The Sinhalas do not want them to prosper but remain as tea pluckers and their corrupt leaders who are invariably partners of any ruling Sri Lankan govt want them to be the same. The current conflict in Sri Lanka is between the native indegenous Eelam Tamils who hail for the North and East of Sri Lanka who used to make up around 12.6% of the population prior to all the ethnic cleansing and migration ( total Tamil poulation native and Indian was around 18,2% ) plus another 7% were Tamil Muslims ( they prefer to identify themsleves by thoer religion). Total Tamil Speakers in Sri Lanka 25% . The native Eelam Tamils and the Tamils of Indian origin hardly mix or intermarry . First they largely live in differnt parts of the country and then the disparity in education and class. The native Tamils are largely of upper and middle castes. The Estate Tamils are mainly of lower/backward castes.
