List of Sri Lankan Tamils

This is a list of notable Tamils of Sri Lanka by their country of domicile or origin. All communities that speak (or spoke) Tamil and originally came from Sri Lanka are included. Tamils of Sri Lanka today are a trans-national minority and are found across the globe.

Sri Lanka

Academics
  • Srikanthalakshmi Arulanandam - Principle Librarian at the University of Jaffna
  • A. Thurairajah - Professor, Vice Chancellor of University of Peradeniya, Civil Engineer (Akbar Bridge in University of Peradeniya was constructed by him), Founder of Thurai Law ( About Soil)
  • T. Nadaraja - Chancellor of the University of Jaffna; Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Ceylon
  • S. Raveendranath - Vice-Chancellor of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka
  • K. Sivathamby - emeritus professor of University of Jaffna; prominent Tamil scholar, sociologist and author of books
  • X. Thaninayagam - scholar, author and historian
  • Valentine Joseph - was a Sri Lankan Tamil mathematician, noted for his contributions to education
  • Rajini Thiranagama - murdered human rights activist and author of books; head of the Department of Anatomy, University of Jaffna; member of University Teachers for Human Rights assassinated by Tamil Tigers.
  • T. Varagunam - Chancellor of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka

Activists
  • Fr. Mary Bastian - Roman Catholic parish priest and human rights activist
  • Fr. Thiruchelvam Nihal Jim Brown - Roman Catholic parish priest and activist; missing since August 20, 2006; presumed dead
  • Radhika Coommaraswamy - human rights activist; Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict
  • Richard de Zoysa - journalist, author, human rights activist and actor; was abducted and brutally killed by Sri Lankan government paramilitary forces during the JVP insurrection; of Tamil and Singhala mixed origin; son of Manorani Sarawanamuttu
  • Rev. Chandra Fernando - Roman Catholic parish priest, human rights activist; Batticaloa Citizens Committee member; murdered
  • Rajan Hoole - professor of Department of Mathematics, University of Jaffna; human rights activist; author of books; member of University Teachers for Human Rights
  • Kethesh Loganathan - Deputy Secretary General of the Peace Secretariat of the Government of Sri Lanka; assassinated
  • Rajini Thiranagama - murdered human rights activist and author of books; head of the Department of Anatomy, University of Jaffna; member of University Teachers for Human Rights
  • Chelvy Thiyagarajah - feminist and International PEN award winner

Actors and directors

Sri Lankan international and first class cricketers, umpires, and administrators
  • Ignatius Anandappa - late Sri Lankan international cricket umpire
  • Russel Arnold - former Sri Lankan Test cricketer and international commentator
  • Roy Dias - former Sri Lankan Test cricketer/vice captain
  • Kandiah Thirugnansampandapillai Francis - international Test/ODI umpire
  • S. Illangaratnam - late Sri Lankan cricketer, stalwart of Moratuwa and Bloomfield cricket clubs prior to the Test match era and the coach of Bloomfield C&AC
  • Pradeep Jayaprakashdaran - Sri Lankan One Day International (ODI) cricket player
  • Sridharan Jeganathan - late NCC and Sri Lankan Test cricketer/off spin bowler
  • Vinothen John - former NCC and Sri Lankan Test cricketer/opening fast medium bowler
  • Angelo Mathews - Sri Lankan all rounder and former captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team
  • Muttiah Muralitharan- Sri Lankan off-spin bowler
  • Selliah Ponnadurai - late international cricket umpire
  • Ravindra Pushpakumara - Karupiah Raveendra Pushpakumara, born to a Tamil father and Sinhala mother
  • Ravi Ratnayeke (Joseph Raveendran Ratnayeke) - former Sri Lankan vice captain; Tamil-Sinhala mixed
  • Mahadevan Sathasivam - cricket batsman
  • Mario Villavarayan - former NCC and first class cricketer
  • Suthershini Sivanantham - Sri Lankan women's cricketer

Other athletes and sports people
  • Nagalingam Ethirveerasingam - high jumper; v Olympic Games and Asian Games; winner of Ceylon's first gold medal in international track and field competition (high jump, 1958 Asian Games)
  • Sujan Perera, footballer
  • Sunil Roshan Appuhamy
  • Adhavan Rajamohan, footballer
  • Jason Thayaparan, footballer

Authors, writers, poets and artists
  • Alagu Subramaniam - Writer, a prominent figure in London's Bloomsbury literary circle, a Barrister-at-Law of The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, and an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Ceylon
  • V. Akilesapillai - author, scholar, poet and Hindu activist
  • Ananda Coomaraswamy - Orientalist, author, philosopher and metaphysician[1]
  • Dominic Jeeva - author and social activist
  • S. Kanapathipillai - scholar
  • Muttukumara Kavirajar - poet and Hindu activist
  • Kumaraswamy Pulavar - scholar, poet and Hindu activist
  • D. Raja Segar - painter and sculptor
  • Tharshan Selvarajah - chef
  • C. W. Thamotharampillai - editor and publisher of classical Tamil poetry and grammar; the oldest extant written work in Tamil, Tolkapiyam - Porulathikaram, was discovered and published by him with a commentary

Business people
  • Ken Balendra - Sri Lankan corporate leader and executive; holds and has held many corporate positions in Sri Lanka and the region
  • Chandran Rutnam - filmmaker and owner of Lionair
  • Suresh Joachim- is well known as the co-founder of WBBAS, No Poverty No Disease No War, World Peace Marathon and Suresh Joachim International Group Of Companies.

Diplomats
  • Yogendra Duraiswamy - first batch of Ceylon Overseas Service, 1949
  • Tamara Kunanayakam - Sri Lankan Ambassador to Cuba (2008-2009); Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office at Geneva

Historical figures
  • Arumaipperumal - Batticaloa chieftain who led a rebellion against the British colonial occupiers in 1803
  • Cankili I (Sankili Segarajasekaran) - a prominent king of the Jaffna Kingdom[2][3]
  • Cankili II - last king of the Jaffna kingdom[4][5]
  • Migapulle Arachchi - Feudal lord of Jaffna Kingdom who rebelled against the Portuguese colonial occupiers in 1620.
  • Pandara Vannian (Kulasegaram Vairamuthu Pandaravanniyan) - Vanni chieftain who challenged British rule

Tamil historical figures who ruled the Sinhalese kingdom
  • Sena and Guttika - Tamil horse merchants who ascended the throne in Anuradhapura, 237-215 BC
  • Ellalan - ruled Anuradhapura from 205 BC to 161 BC; considered a most impartial and just monarch
  • Pulahatta - Tamil king, ruled from Anuradhapura 103 -100 BC
  • Bahiya - Tamil king, ruled from Anuradhapura 100-98 BC
  • Panya Mara - Tamil king, ruled from Anuradhapura 98-91 BC
  • Pilaya Mara - Tamil King, ruled from Anuradapura 91-90 BC
  • Dathiya - Tamil King of Anuradhapura 447-450 AD
  • Pandu - Tamil king from 436 to 441 BC
  • Parindu - son of Pandu, ruled for one year, 441 BC
  • Khudda Parinda - brother of Pandu, ruled 441-447 BC
  • Tiritara - 447 BC
  • Dathiya - 447-450 BC
  • Pithiya - 450-452
  • Chempaha Perumal - a Jaffna Tamil who ascended the Sinhala throne as King Bhuvanekabahu VI of Kotte

Journalists and broadcasters
  • S. P. Mylvaganam - first Tamil announcer of the Commercial Service of Radio Ceylon
  • A. Nadesan - murdered Virakesari newspaper journalist
  • M. Nimalrajan - murdered journalist, BBC reporter
  • K. S. Raja - Radio Ceylon announcer
  • Claude Selveratnam - Radio Ceylon announcer
  • Kailayar Sellanainar Sivakumaran - broadcaster and Journalist in English and Tamil
  • Taraki Sivaram - journalist, military analyst editor of TamilNet news website, author of books
  • J. S. Tissainayagam - journalist and first winner of the Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism

Lawyers and judges

Militants and rebels
  • Velupillai Prabhakaran (Karikalan) - Leader of the LTTE and of the de facto state of Tamil Eelam till 2009.
  • Charles Lucas Anthony (Seelan) - senior Tamil Tiger commander
  • V. Baheerathakumar (Theepan) - senior Tamil Tiger commander, de facto military leader
  • V. Balakumaran - former leader of Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students, later joined the Tamil Tigers
  • Anton Balasingham - chief political strategist and chief negotiator for the Tamil Tigers
  • S. Chandrakanthan (Pillayan) - Tamil Tiger member, defected to the Sri Lankan Government; Chief Minister of the Eastern Province
  • Douglas Devananda - Tiger deserter; former militant turned politician; founder and leader of the Eelam People's Democratic Party political party and a pro-government paramilitary organization; Government Minister and Member of Parliament
  • B. Kandiah (Balraj) - senior Tamil Tiger commander
  • S. Krishnakumar (Kittu) - senior Tamil Tiger commander
  • G. Mahendraraja (Mahattaya) - Deputy Leader of the Tamil Tigers and head of the People's Front of Liberation Tigers
  • V. Muralitharan (Karuna Amman) - senior Tamil Tiger commander, defected to the Sri Lankan Government; Government Minister and appointed Member of Parliament
  • B. Nadesan - Tamil Tiger political leader
  • A. Neminathan (CRaju) - senior Tamil Tiger commander
  • R. Parthipan (Thileepan) - Tamil Tiger political wing member who died during a hunger strike
  • S. Pathmanathan (KP) - senior Tamil Tiger member; now collaborating with the Sri Lankan government
  • Arul Pragasam - founder and leader of Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students
  • Thenmozhi Rajaratnam - assassin who killed Rajiv Gandhi
  • E. Ratnasabapathy - founder member of Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students
  • S. Ravishankar (Charles) - Tamil Tiger military intelligence wing leader
  • Sri Sabaratnam - leader of Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization
  • T. Sivanesan ( Soosai) - Tamil Tiger Sea Wing leader
  • P. Sivaparan (Nediyawan) - senior Tamil Tiger member
  • S. Sivashankar (Pottu Amman) - Tamil Tigers Intelligence Wing leader, was number 2 in the organisation
  • V. Sornalingam (Shankar) - founder of Sea Tigers and Air Tigers wing of the Tamil Tigers
  • S. P. Thamilselvan - Tamil Tiger political leader
  • N. Thangathurai - co-founder and leader of Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization
  • K. Ulaganathan (Ramanan) - senior Tamil Tiger commander
  • V. Vasanthan (Miller) - first Black Tiger
  • S. Yogachandran (Kuttimani) - co-founder and leader of Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization

Military
  • Air Vice Marshal P.B. Premachandra - former Chief of Staff, Sri Lanka Air Force
  • Air Vice Marshal Ravi Arunthavanathan - former Deputy Chief of Staff, Sri Lanka Air Force and current Additional Secretary, Ministry of Defence
  • Major General Y. Balaretnarajah, Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya, Uttama Seva Padakkama, National Defence College, India, Sri Lanka Armoured Corps - Chief of Staff, Sri Lanka Army (1992-1992)
  • Rear Admiral Rajan Kadiragamar, Royal Victorian Order, Royal Ceylon Navy - former Commander of the Sri Lankan Navy
  • Air Vice Marshal A. Kumaresan, Rana Sura Padakkama, Uttama Seva Padakkama, Psc (British Army), Sri Lanka Air Force - current Director of Planning, Sri Lanka Air Force
  • Major General Anton Muttukumaru, OBE, Efficiency Decoration; Aide-de-camp, Ceylon Light Infantry; first Ceylonese Commander of the Sri Lanka Army
  • Vice Admiral Travis Sinniah, Weera Wickrama Vibhushanaya, Rana Wickrama Padakkama, Rana Sura Padakkama, Uttama Seva Padakkama, ndu - 21st Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy, veteran of attack flotilla
  • Major General E. G. Thevanayagam, Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya - Commandant of the Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force (1984–1986)
  • Major General Chelliah Thurairaja, Uttama Seva Padakkama, Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps - former Director Army Medical Services and Colonel Commandant Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps
  • Colonel David Rockwood, KStJ, ED, JP - Deputy Commandant of the Volunteer Force

Politicians

Religious figures

Australia

Activists

Business people
  • Maha Sinnathamby - property developer; the man behind Australia's largest real estate project; frequently listed in BRW's annual list of the 200 richest Australians

Singers
  • Kamahl (Kandiah Kamalesvaran) - singer
  • Dhee (Dheekshitha Venkadeshan) - singer

Sportspeople
  • Nishan Velupillay - footballer for Melbourne Victory FC

Canada

Academics
  • Alfred Jeyaratnam Wilson - peacemaker, politician and author of books on Sri Lanka

Actors and directors
  • Rohan Fernando - filmmaker born in Jaffna[7]
  • Lenin M. Sivam - film director; directed the critically acclaimed film 1999
  • Maitreyi Ramakrishnan- actress; Never Have I Ever
  • Rajiv Surendra - actor, artist and author

Athletes and sports people
  • Trevin Bastiampillai - Canadian cricketer
  • Manoj David - Canadian cricketer
  • Arvind Kandappah - Canadian cricketer
  • Sanjayan Thuraisingam - Canadian cricketer
  • Suresh Joachim - Multiple Guinness World Record Holder

Authors, writers, poets and musicians

Business people
  • Roy Ratnavel - Business executive and the author of the book Prisoner #1056.

Politicians
  • Gary Anandasangaree - MP for Scarborough-Rouge Park
  • Vijay Thanigasalam - MPP for Scarborough-Rouge Park
  • Logan Kanapathi - MPP for Markham-Thornhill, former Markham City Councillor, first Tamil Canadian elected to political office (2006)
  • Neethan Shan - former Toronto City Councillor
  • Rathika Sitsabaiesan - former Canadian politician from Toronto; the New Democratic Party (NDP) Member of Parliament for Scarborough-Rouge River; the first Tamil elected to the Canadian Parliament

India

Actors and directors
  • Poongkothai Chandrahasan - actress and Harvard-trained filmmaker
  • Suresh Joachim - actor, producer, and singer
  • Balu Mahendra - prominent Kollywood film director

Authors, writers, poets and artists
  • V. Kanakasabhai - lawyer, historian and Dravidologist of Sri Lankan Tamil descent

Politicians

Athletes

Malaysia

Academics
  • Shan Ratnam - professor and researcher

Athletes and sports people
  • Punch Gunalan - former national badminton player and IBF Executive Deputy President
  • Mahadevan Sathasivam - former captain of the Malaysian cricket team
  • K. Gurusamy - Malaysian Footballer

Authors, writers, poets and artists
  • Rani Manicka - writer
  • Manicasothy Saravanamuttu - editor of The Straits Echo in Malaya (1931–1941); credited with 'saving' Penang during Japanese invasion in 1941; author of The Sara Saga

Business people
  • Vijay Eswaran - Group MD; CEO of the QI Group of companies
  • Tan Sri G. Gnanalingam - executive chairman of Westport; ranked 29th in the 2007 Forbes Asia List of the 40 Richest Malaysians
  • Ananda Krishnan - Malaysia's richest man and 62nd Richest Man in the world according to the 2009 Forbes Billionaire List
  • Bastianpillai Paul Nicholas - the first non-British businessman who endeavoured to become one of the top bankers in the then Malaya

Civil servants
  • Tan Sri Dr Ramon Navaratnam - Malaysian economist

Politicians

Singapore

Academics
  • Philip Jeyaretnam - professor of law; member of Public Service Commission
  • Shan Ratnam - former Head of Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at the National University of Singapore

Authors, writers, poets and artists

Civil servants

Politicians

United Kingdom

Academics
  • Ganesh Sittampalam - Guinness World Record holder as the youngest person in the UK to pass an A-Level in 1988, aged only nine years and four months old at the time
  • Sabaratnam Arulkumaran - is a Sri Lankan Tamil physician, former president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, and president-elect of the British Medical Association.
  • Maheshi N. Ramasamy - is a British-Sri Lankan physician and lecturer. She is currently working as one of the chief investigators at the Oxford Vaccine Group.

Activists
  • S. J. Emmanuel - priest, academic, and activist; President of the Global Tamil Forum; Vicar General of the Jaffna Diocese

Actors/actresses
  • Amara Karan, British actress, whose parents moved to the UK from Zambia for work.

Athletes and sports people
  • Dimitri Mascarenhas - international cricketer, plays for England; born to Sri Lankan Bharatakula Tamil parents in the UK, brought up in Australia and the UK
  • Murugan Thiruchelvam - British child prodigy chess player
  • Vimal Yoganathan - Footballer for Barnsley FC

Comedians

Musicians and singers
  • Arjun - recording artist, born to a Tamil father
  • M.I.A. (Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam) - British rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer
  • Siva Kaneswaran - member of the English-Irish boy band The Wanted, born to a Tamil father
  • Ashan Pillai- British violist and professor

Journalists and broadcasters
  • George Alagiah - BBC reporter and journalist
  • James Coomarasamy - BBC reporter and journalist
  • Dharshini David - BBC reporter and journalist
  • Tim Kash - MTV and BBC reporter and journalist

Politicians

United States

Academics

Business people

Musicians and singers
  • Clarence Jey - songwriter and composer for US Late Night host Jimmy Fallon's 2013 Grammy-winning record Blow Your Pants Off; songwriter and producer for Emmy-winning US TV animation series Growing Up Creepie; producer and songwriter for Rebecca Black's viral hit song "Friday"

Politicians
  • V. Rudrakumaran - Prime Minister of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam

See also

References
  1. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy: From Geology to philosophia perennis
  2. Kunarasa, K. The Jaffna Dynasty, pp.82-84
  3. Gnanaprakasar, S. A critical history of Jaffna, pp.113-117
  4. Abeysinghe, T. Jaffna Under the Portuguese, pp.58-63
  5. Gnanaprakasar, S. A critical history of Jaffna, pp.153-172
  6. Army, Sri Lanka (October 1999). Sri Lanka Army, "50 YEARS ON" - 1949-1999 (1st ed.). Colombo: Sri Lanka Army. ISBN 955-8089-02-8.
  7. Film Collection – National Film Board of Canada – Blood and Water
    • "Sivarasa Wins!". Archived from the original on 2008-03-12. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
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