Hinduism in Sri LankaHinduism is one of Sri Lanka's oldest religions. As of 2011, Hindus made up 12.6% of the Sri Lankan population. They are almost exclusively Tamils, except for small immigrant communities from India and the Bali. According to the 1915 census, Hindus made up about 25% of the Sri Lankan population (including Indian indentured labourers brought by the British).
Dravidian folk religionDravidian folk religion refers to the indigenous traditions and cultural practices of the Dravidian languages speaking people in the India and Indian Subcontinent. These traditions likely included ancestor worship, nature veneration, and village deities, some of which still persists. These practices were either historically or are at present Āgamic. The origin and chronology of Agamas is unclear. Some are Vedic and others non-Vedic.
Tamil NaduState in southern IndiaState in South India, IndiaTamil Nadu is the southernmost state of India. The tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population, it is the home of the Tamils, who speak the Tamil language, the state's official language and the first to be recognised as a classical language in India. Chennai is the state's largest city and capital.
HinduismRange of Indian religious traditions
Sri LankaCountry in South AsiaFlag EmblemAnthem: "Sri Lanka Matha"ශ්රී ලංකා මාතා (Sinhala)தாயே இலங்கை (Tamil)(English: "Mother Sri Lanka")CapitalSri Jayawardenepura Kotte (legislative)Colombo (executive and judicial)6°56′N79°52′E / 6.933°N 79.867°E / 6.933; 79.867Largest cityColomboOfficial languagesand recognised national languagesSinhalaTamilRecognised languageEnglishEthnic groups (2024)74.1% Sinhalese12.3% Sri Lankan Tamils10.5% Sri Lankan Moors2.8% Indian Tamils0.3% otherReligion (2024)69.8% Buddhism(constitutionally privileged)12.6% Hinduism10.7% Islam6.9% Christianity0.1% other/noneDemonymSri LankanGovernmentUnitary semi-presidential republic• PresidentAnura Kumara Dissanayake• Prime MinisterHarini Amarasuriya• Speaker of the ParliamentJagath Wickramaratne• Chief JusticePadman SurasenaLegislatureParliamentFormation• Sinhala Kingdom established 543 BCE• Anuradhapura period377 BCE – 1017 CE• Polonnaruwa period1017–1232• Transitional period1232–1592• Kandyan period1592–1815• British Ceylon period1815–1948• Independence4 February 1948• Republic22 May 1972• Current constitution7 September 1978Area • Total67,240 km (25,960 sq mi) (120th)• Water (%)4.4Population• 2025 (mid-year) estimate 21,756,000 (60th)• 2024 census21,781,800• Density337.7/km (874.6/sq mi) (36th)GDP (PPP)2025 estimate• Total$371.27 billion (62nd)• Per capita $17,065 (111th)GDP (nominal)2025 estimate• Total $108.8 billion (71st)• Per capita $5,003 (N/A)Gini (2023) 39.8medium inequalityHDI (2023) 0.776high (89th)CurrencySri Lankan rupee (Rs) (LKR)Time zoneUTC+5:30 (SLST)Calling code+94ISO 3166 codeLKInternet TLD.lk.ලංකා.இலங்கைWebsitegov.lkSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia.
Vedic periodThe Vedic period, or the Vedic age (c. 1500 – c. 500 BCE), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (c. 1500–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, between the end of the urban Indus Valley Civilisation and a second urbanisation, which began in the central Indo-Gangetic Plainc. 600 BCE.
KeralaState in southwestern IndiaState in South India, IndiaKerala, officially Keralam (Malayalam:Kēraḷam), is a state on the Malabar Coast of southern India. It was formed on 1 November 1956 under the States Reorganisation Act, which unified the country's Malayalam-speaking regions into a single state.
KarnatakaState in southwestern IndiaState in South India, IndiaKarnataka is a state on the southwestern coast of India. It was formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, and renamed in 1973. The state is bordered by the Lakshadweep Sea to the west, Goa to the northwest, Maharashtra to the north, Telangana to the northeast, Andhra Pradesh to the east, Tamil Nadu to the southeast, and Kerala to the southwest.
Sri Lankan civil warThe Sri Lankan civil war was an armed conflict fought in Sri Lanka from 1983 to 2009. Beginning on 23 July 1983, it was an intermittent insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers) led by Velupillai Prabhakaran.
Tamil languageDravidian languageTamil (தமிழ், Tamiḻ, pronounced) is a Dravidian language spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia where they are concentrated in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry in India and the Northern and Eastern Provinces in Sri Lanka. It is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world, attested since c.300 BCE.
States and union territories of IndiaIndia is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories in turn are each subdivided into districts, of which a total of around 800 exist. Districts contain further levels of administrative subdivisions. Under the Indian Constitution and laws, the states of India are self-governing administrative divisions, each having a state government.
Southeast AsiaSoutheast Asia is the geographical south-eastern subregion of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of mainland Australia, which is a part of Oceania. Southeast Asia is bordered to the north by East Asia, to the west by South Asia and the Bay of Bengal, to the east by Oceania and the Pacific Ocean, and to the south by Australia and the Indian Ocean.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.