Tamil South Africans

Tamil South Africans
	Navanethem Pillay
Total population
	500,000[citation needed]
Regions with significant populations
	KwaZulu-Natal
Languages
	English, Tamil, Afrikaans
Religion
	Hinduism, Christianity, others

For other uses, see Indian South Africans.

Tamil South Africans are South Africans of Tamil descent. Amongst the language groups represented among the Indian immigrants who came from India to Natal, South Africa, from 1860 onwards, are Tamil, with Tamil people forming the majority^{[citation needed]}. After the expiry of their indentures most of these Indians moved to the cities, becoming established as a thoroughly urban population.^[1]^[2]

Arrival in South Africa [edit]

In 1833, the British Parliament passed the Act of Abolition which banned slavery throughout the British Empire.The consequence of this was that many African slaves in the Colony of Natal decided to desert their former masters.The former masters having no sufficient labour force, persuaded the sceptic British authorities in India to implement the system of indentured labour in Natal.On the 16 of November 1860, 342 men, women and children arrived aboard the S.S. Truro in Port Natal (Durban).

Apartheid [edit]

Apartheid alienated all Indians as disenfranchised non-whites, and Hinduism in particular was perceived by many whites as antithetical to Christianity. The imposition of apartheid system also curtailed the opportunities for improvement including forced removals program which caused great disruption and social hardship.^[1]

Recovery [edit]

However, numerous Tamil cultural organizations are presently helping people to recover knowledge of the vernacular, and to take pride in their ancient and rich tradition. For many individual Hindus, a new awareness of their Tamil heritage could be powerfully inspirational and healing.^[1]^[3]^[4]^[5]

The present OHCHR chief, Navanethem Pillay is a South African Tamil.

Integration [edit]

Over the 150 years of residence in South Africa, participation in religion and its many festivals has brought devotees a valuable sense of identity and solidarity, especially in the light of their marginalization and the discrimination experienced under the apartheid system. A recent resurgence of interest in indigenous Tamil festivals seems to reflect a variety of religious, social and political concerns.^[1]

Notes [edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Diesel, Alleyn (2000). "Tamil Hindus in KawZulu-Natal (South Africa): History, Identity and the Establishment of Their Place in the New South Africa". Proceedings from the International Association for the History of Religions. International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR),.
^ "Caste and Religions of Natal Immigrants.". K. Chetty. Retrieved 2007-11-19.
^ "Pongal in Africa: Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles And South Africa.". Retrieved 2007-11-19.
^ Padayachee, Sarres (2003). "Kavadi in the South African Cult of Murukan". Proceedings from the International Murukan Conference. Selangor, Malaysia: International Murukan Conference.
^ "Tamil Language and Murukan Worship in South Africa.". S. Subramanian. Retrieved 2007-11-19.