Tamil German or German Tamizhar refer to the German citizens of

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

ethnic origins mainly from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

and

Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to: * Puducherry (union territory), a union territory of India ** Pondicherry, capital of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry district, a district of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry t ...

then Sri Lanka and

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

apart from other parts of the world. Tamil migration to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

which was mainly composed of higher education and labor migrants increased in the late 1980s and onwards mainly due to the escalation of the Sri Lankan Civil War which saw tens of thousands of those belonging to the Tamil community fleeing the country and seeking asylum elsewhere abroad. The Tamil population figures in Germany currently range somewhere between 50,000-60,000. Karin Stoll is the consul general at the German Consulate in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

."German Consul General, Ms. Karin Stoll"
''German Missions in India''. Federal Foreign Office of Germany. Retrieved December 31, 2020.

Religion

It is found that most Tamils, irrespective of their Indian and Sri Lankan origins all tended to practice

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

and especially

Shaivism Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangi ...

. There are two well organized Hindu temples in the country – Sidhivinayagar Kovil and the Kamatchi Amman Kovil – both in the western city of Hamm since 1984. The Kamatchi Amman Temple is arguably the most visible and best known Hindu Temple in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. The annual temple festival attracts some 15,000 visitors and has become a central pilgrimage place for Tamil Hindus all over Europe. Additionally, since the late 1980s, Tamil Hindus founded numerous temples, numbering about 25 places of worship in early 2005. The temples are situated in cellars and flats, some in former warehouses and industrial halls. Apart from their religious importance for the carrying out of religious worship, life-cycle rituals and festivals, some of the temples also function as socio-cultural meeting points. A few temples have started to celebrate the annual temple festival with a public procession, thus bringing the gods and Hindu tradition to wider notice.

Notable people

Ian Karan Ian Kiru Karan (born Ian Kirupakaran; 17 June 1939) is a Tamil German businessman and politician. Early life and family Kirupakaran was born on 17 June 1939 at Point Pedro Hospital in northern Ceylon. His family were from Kaddaively near Kara ...

, businessman a.k.a. "Container King"

References

{{Sri Lankan diaspora Asian diaspora in Germany

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

Religion

Notable people

See also

References