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The Andaman Tamils are Tamil-speaking people of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, commonly known as the Madrasi (after Madras, erstwhile name of Chennai). There are three groups. The first are those who migrated from Tamil Nadu in search of livelihood and are found in almost all the islands where human beings are settled. The second are Tamil-speaking repatriates from Myanmar who migrated after the military junta came to power in the then Burma. The third group are Tamil-speaking repatriates from Sri Lanka who migrated after ethnic clashes began there. The population of the first group is largest and is still swelling as the migration continues.

Andaman Tamils speak Tamil at home and use Tamil script when writing. With non-Tamils, they speak in a sort of local Hindi, often referred to as Andaman Hindi. Educated Tamils speak in English too. Most Andaman Tamils enjoy privileges under the category of "local" residents. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have about 100,000 Tamils.

Chola empire

In the 11th century CE, Rajendra Chola I of the Chola dynasty of Tamilakam invaded parts of South East Asia using the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as an intermediate naval base.^[1]^[2] It was part of an established Chola trade route connecting India and South East Asia, with the practice continuing in the subsequent years during the reigns of Rajendra II and Kulothunga I.^[3]^[4] Chola inscriptions from Thanjavur, dated to 1050 CE, describe the islands as Ma-Nakkavaram meaning "great open/naked land" in Tamil.^[5]^[6] The islands are later mentioned by Marco Polo in the 13th century CE and Friar Oderic in early 14th century CE.^[7]

Census

According to the information furnished by the Andaman and Nicobar Administration, the population of different linguistic groups recorded in the census of 1971 was as under:^[8]

Bengali 28114
Nicobarese 17955
Tamil 14518
Hindi 13982
Malayalam 13916
Telugu 9361
Urdu 2588
Punjabi 1024
Oriya 250
Kannada 201
Marathi 115
Gujarati 159
Assamese 17
Sindhi 7
Kashmiri 8
Others 12918

References

^ Hultzsch, E. (1991). "Inscriptions on the walls of the central shrine". South Indian Inscriptions: Tamil Inscriptions of Rajaraja, Rajendra Chola and Others in the Rajarajesvara Temple at Tanjavur (in Tamil). Vol. 2. Chennai: Superintendent, Government Press. p. 109. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
^ Nilakanta Sastri, K. A. (1955). "Rajendra- (A.D. 1012-1044)". The Cholas (2nd ed.). Chennai: G. S. Press. pp. 211–213.
^ Murfett, Malcolm H. Between 2 Oceans (2nd Edn): A Military History of Singapore from 1275 to 1971. p. 16.
^ Cotterell, Arthur. Asia: A Concise History. p. 190.
^ The Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Local Gazetteer. Government of India. 1908. p. 57.
^ Cœdès, George (1918). "Le Royaume De Srivijaya" [The Kingdom of Srivijaya]. Bulletin de l'École Française d'Extrême-Orient (in French). 18 (6): 6. doi:10.3406/befeo.1918.5894. JSTOR 43729861. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022 – via JSTOR.
^ Yule, Henry; Burnell, Arthur Coke (1903). "Nicobar Islands". Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases, and of Kindred Terms, Etymological, Historical, Geographical and Discursive. Vol. 1. London: J. Murray. pp. 624–625. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
^ "WRITTEN ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS: Tamil Medium Schools in Andaman and Nicobar Islands". LOK SABHA DEBATES (Seventh Session) (PDF). Vol. 23. Lok Sabha Secretariat. 1979-03-12. pp. 80–81. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-05-18. Retrieved 2021-07-18.

Sources

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Andaman Islands". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
History & Culture. The Andaman Islands with destination quide
India Home Department. The Andaman Islands: with notes on Barren Island. C.B. Lewis, Baptist Mission Press, 1859 read online or download