User:Atcovi/4th Book/Indians in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (/sriːˈlɑːŋkə/, /sriːˈlæŋkə/ or Listeni/ʃriː ˈlɑːŋkə/; Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකාව, śrī laṃkāva, Tamil: இலங்கை, ilaṅkai), officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in the northern Indian Ocean off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent in South Asia; known until 1972 as Ceylon (/sɨˈlɒn/, /seɪˈlɒn/, or /siːˈlɒn/), Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest and the Maldives to the southwest.

Sri Lanka has a documented history that spans over 3000 years. Its geographic location and deep harbours made it of great strategic importance from the time of the ancient Silk Road through to World War II. Sri Lanka is a diverse country, home to many religions, ethnicities and languages. It is the land of the Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Tamils, Moors, Indian Tamils, Burghers, Malays, Kaffirs and the aboriginal Vedda. Sri Lanka has a rich Buddhist heritage, and the first known Buddhist writings were composed on the island. The country's recent history has been marred by a thirty-year civil war which decisively but controversially ended in a military victory in 2009.

Sri Lanka is a republic and a unitary state governed by a presidential system. The capital, Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte, is a suburb of the largest city, Colombo. An important producer of tea, coffee, gemstones, coconuts, rubber, and the native cinnamon, Sri Lanka is known as "the Pearl of the Indian Ocean" because of its natural beauty. Sri Lanka has also been called "the teardrop of India" because of its shape and location, and "the nation of smiling people". The island contains tropical forests and diverse landscapes with high biodiversity.

The country has had a long history of international engagement, being a founding member of SAARC and a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the G77 and the Non-Aligned Movement. It is also the only country in South Asia that is currently rated 'high' on the Human Development Index.

India
India (Listeni/ˈɪndiə/), officially the Republic of India (Bharat Ganrajya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.

Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four world religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.

The Indian economy is the world's eleventh-largest by nominal GDP and third-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the fastest-growing major economies; it is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, inadequate public healthcare, and terrorism. A nuclear weapons state and a regional power, it has the third-largest standing army in the world and ranks eighth in military expenditure among nations. India is a federal constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system consisting of 28 states and 7 union territories. India is a pluralistic, multilingual, and multi-ethnic society. It is also home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats.



History
Indian traders have been visiting and settling down in Sri Lanka for more than 2,500 years, Colombo Chetties are descendants of traders who had come to Sri Lanka during the Portuguese colonial era since 1505 CE. Sri Lankan monarchs have used the services of South Indian labor since centuries BCE. According to the primary source Mahavamsa, number service groups from Pandyan kingdom in present day Tamil Nadu accompanied the settlement of Anuradhapura by Prakrit speakers. There is epigraphic evidence of 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.

Indian Tamils in Sri Lanka
Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka are Tamil people of Indian origin in Sri Lanka. They are partly descended from workers sent from South India to Sri Lanka in the 19th and 20th centuries to work in coffee, tea and rubber plantations. Some also migrated on their own as merchants and as other service providers. These Tamil-speakers mostly live in the central highlands, also known as the Malayakam or Hill Country yet others are also found major urban areas and in the Northern province. Although they are all termed as Tamils today, some have Telugu and Malayalee origins as well as diverse South Indian caste origins. They are instrumental in the plantation sector economy of Sri Lanka. In general socio economically their standard of living is below that of the national average. In 1964 a large percentage were expatriated back to India but left a considerable number as stateless people. By 1990’s most of these have been given Sri Lankan citizenship. Most are Hindus with a minority of Christians and Muslims amongst them. Politically they are supportive of trade union derived political parties that have supported most of the ruling coalition since the 1980s.

Indian Moors
Before the 1911 Ceylon Census Moors in Sri Lanka were counted as one. From the census onwards they were divided into Indian Moors and Sri Lankan Moors. Indian Moors were brought to Sri Lanka for the same reasons as the Indian Tamils, as labourers to the plantations. In 1971 Indian Moors numbered 29,416 declining from 55,400 in 1963. Their decline was partly due to returning to India and some declaring themselves and being enumerated as Sri Lankan Moors. Indian Moors were mostly found in the Colombo and Kandy Districts.

Sri Lankan Chetty
Sri Lankan Chetty, also known as Colombo Chetties, Colombo Chittis or Colombo Hetties, are a formerly endogamous Sri Lankan social group or caste. Colombo Chetty are mostly Roman Catholics or Anglicans and are found in almost all niches of Sri Lankan society. Members trace their origins to traders of various ethnicities from South India. Most traders were Tamil speakers with a smattering of Malayalee or Telugu speakers. Although Indian traders have been visiting and settling down in Sri Lanka for more than 2,500 years, Colombo Chetties are descendants of traders who had come to Sri Lanka during the Portuguese colonial era since 1505 CE.

Bharatha People
Bharathas also Bharatakula are a Sri Lankan caste of Paravar immigrants from Tamil Nadu in India. In India they were traditional fishers' merchants and traders. Most are Roman Catholics although a significant minority practice Hinduism.

Paravar are to be found all over Sri Lanka. Amongst Sri Lankan Tamils Paravar are still a fishing and trading caste although commonly confused with the Karaiyar. The Bharatas or Bharatakula identity is maintained by a relatively prosperous merchant group from India that settled amongst the Sinhalese in the Negombo area.

Sri Lankan Gypsy people
Sri Lankan Gypsy people are an ethnic group who trace their origins in India. They are a nomadic people who mostly speak in Telugu also known as Sri Lankan Gypsy Telugu, a Dravidian language natively spoken in the Andhra Pradesh. They make their living by fortune telling, snake charming and using animals in performances. Those who are settled in resettlement villages are subsistence farmers and farm hands to other farmers. They also speak Sinhalese or Tamil based on their area of settlement. Most seem to be settled in the eastern Batticaloa district.

Tivaru
Tivaru or Tiyya are said to be the first settlers of the Minocoy islands of Lakshadweepa off the Indian mainland. The origin of the Tivaru is unknown. Clarence Malony suggests that they could be Dravidians from southern India. Local oral tradition says that when Mahls came to these islands, the Tivaru who had already settled in these islands migrated to Sri Lanka, except for those who remained in Giraavaru.

Source

 * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indians_in_Sri_Lanka