Tamil Americans (தமிழ் அமெரிக்கர்) are Americans who are of Tamil ethnic origin, mostly from India and Sri Lanka and other diasporic centers such as Canada and the United Kingdom.[2]
The Tamil community in the United States is largely bilingual. Tamil is taught in weekly classes in many Hindu temples and by associations such as the American Tamil Academy in South Brunswick, Tamil Jersey School in Jersey City, New Jersey,[12] The written form of the language is highly formal, and quite distinct from the vernacular that people actually speak. A few universities, such as the University of Chicago and the University of California Berkeley, have graduate programs in the language.[13]
Religion
The Tamil community is largely connected to the Hindu community, along with other groups from South India. In most Hindu temples in the United States, the prayers are in Sanskrit. However, in North Brunswick, New Jersey, the "Tamil Temple" ("Tamil Annai Thirukkoyil") conducts all the prayers in the Tamil Language. The Hindu Temple in Houston, Texas, is dedicated to Meenakshi, a Tamil manifestation of the goddess Parvati. There is also an active Christian minority.[14]
2009 Tamil diaspora protests
Tamil Americans participated in the worldwide Tamil diaspora protests in 2009, where they urged national and world leaders and organizations to take action toward bringing a unanimous cease fire to the Sri Lankan Civil War. Protests occurred in the United States, concurrently with other protests in other parts of the world. They were organized by local Tamil American groups, with the help of Tamil Canadians. Major protests occurred on several occasions in Washington, D.C. near the White House, as well as smaller scale protests in New York City.
^"ABOUT FETNA". Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America. Archived from the original on 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2013-04-01. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
Tamil portal
