List of Sri Lankan Tamils
This is a list of prominent Sri Lankan Tamils of native origin by their country of domicile or origin.
Historical figures
- Eelattu Poothanthevanar – Sangam Era Poet
- Ellalan - Chola King of Sri Lanka
- Sankili Segarajasekaran VI 1519-1560 - a prominent Jaffna Kingdom king
Sri Lanka
Pre-1948 Sri Lanka (or Ceylon)
- Arumuka Navalar - Hindu reformer
- C.W. Thamotharampillai - Editor/publisher of classical Tamil poetry and grammar
- Dr. Ananda Coomaraswamy Orientialist and author
- Sir. Muthu Coomaraswamy – First Asian to be knighted
- Sir Ponambalam Ramanathan – Pre independence politician
- Sir. Ponnabalam Arunachalam – Pre independence politician
- Brigadier A. Mutukumaru - First native Commander of the Army and Chief-of-Staff
- Rear Admiral Ranjan Kadirgamar - First native Commander of the Navy
Post-1948 Sri Lanka (till today)
- G.G. Ponnambalam – Politician
- S.J.V. Chelvanayagam – Politician
- V. Akilesapillai - Author and Hindu activist
- Alfred Duraiappah - SLFP Politician, later assassinated allegedly by the LTTE
- Radhika Coommaraswamy – Human Rights activist and United Nations representative for violence against women and children
- Russel Arnold - Cricketer
- Umesh Walloopillai - Tennis Davis Cup player
- Sanjeev Paramanathan- Tennis Davis Cup Player
- K.C.Kamalasabayson - Attorney-General of Sri Lanka
- T.E.Anandarajah - Inspector General of Police of Sri Lanka
- Claude Selveratnam - Radio Ceylon Journalist
- S.P.Mylvaganam - Radio Ceylon first Tamil journalist
- Bala Tampoe - Veteran Trade Unionist
- N. Shanmugathasan - Veteran Communist Party Leader
- V.S. Kumar Anandan - Guinness World Record holder
- A.E.Manoharan Popular Baila singer
- Dr. Ratnajeevan Hoole Prominent professor in Sri Lanka
- Prof. S.K Strampalam Prominent historian
- Prof. Katthigesu Sivathamby Prominent sociologist (in Tamil)[1]
Post-1983 Black July civil conflict figures only
- Appapillai Amirthalingam Assassinated leader of the Tamil nationalistic but moderate TULF political party
- V Yogeswaran Assassinated co-leader of the Tamil nationalistic but moderate TULF political party
- Shankar Rajee Founder member of EROS group
- Arul Pragasam - Pioneering Tamil militant leader of EROS group
- Velupillai Prabhakaran – Current Leader of LTTE group
- Sri Sabaratnam Murdered leader of TELO group
- Kuttimani Murdered in the prison, the co-founder of TELO group
- Thangadurai Murdered in the prison, the co-founder of TELO group
- K.Padmanabha Assassinated leader of EPRLF group
- Uma Maheswaran Assassinated leader of PLOTE group
- A.J.Canagaratna Critic and Humanist [2]
- V. Balakumar Former leader of EROS and currently with the LTTE
- Neelan Thiruchelvam – Assassinated pro government politicianTULF, Human Rights activist and founder of Minorities Rights organization
- Rajini Rajasingham Thiranagama - Assassinated Human Rights activist and author of books
- Lakshman Kadirgamar – Assassinated pro Government politician
- Joseph Pararajasingham - Assassinated pro Tamil nationalist politician
- Taraki Sivaram - Murdered journalist and editor of Tamilnet[3] news website and controversial figure (in Tamil)[4]
- Colonel Karuna - Government aligned Tamil leader of LTTE splinter group and warlord
- Thenmuli Rajaratnam – LTTE assassin who killed Rajiv Gandhi
- Douglas Devananda - Government aligned anti-LTTE Tamil leader of semi-political and para-military EPDP group
- Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Director of Center for Policy Alternatives, Colombo, Sri Lanka[5]
- Dr. Rajan Hoole Professor and Human Rights activist (introduction in Tamil) [6]
India
- Balu Mahendra – Indian Bollywood film Director
- Yasmin Tambiah - Director at the Centre for Feminist Legal Research, New Delhi, & author
- Raadhika Kollywood actress
Singapore
- Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam – Perenial opposition politician
- Edwin Thumboo – Poet
- Prof Philip Jeyaretnam – Professor
- Sinnathamby Rajaratnam – Politician and deputy prime minister
- Prof Sittampalam Shanmugaratnam - Professor and reseacher
- Clarence Chandran – Former Chief Executive of Nortel
- Tharman Shanmugaratnam - Politician and minister
Malaysia
- Ananda Krishnan – Malaysia's richest man and usually makes Forbes 100 richest people list
- Dr S.S, Thiruchelvam - first Asian surgeon in the world.
- Bastianpillai Paul Nicholas - the first non-British businessman who endeavoured to become one of the top bankers in the then Malaya.
USA
- Sanjay Kumar – Former Chief Executive of Computer Associates
- Prof.Alfred Jeyaratnam Wilson – Peace maker and politician
- Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah Harvard University professor
- Prof. Kanishka Sadasivam – Political Scientist (Carlton, Salem), professor, author, analyst with a special interest in arms races.
Canada
- Sonya Jayaseelan - Canadian tennis player
- Shyam Selvadurai - Canadian author of Funny Boy and Cinnamon Gardens
- A. Sivanandan - Canadian author of When Memory Dies, and editor of the journal Race and Class
- Sanjayan Thuraisingam- Canadian cricketer
- Suresh Joachim - Guinness World Record holder
- Abimanyu Sivarasa Singam Canadian Tamil Congress founder and Liberal Party of Canada organizer.
- Gary Anandasangaree He is the estranged son of Anandasangaree, formerly TULF MP in the Sri Lankan Parliament and Canadian Tamil Congress founder and Liberal Party of Canada organizer.
- Vincent Veerasundaram - Conservative Party of Canada nominee for federal elections in 2006.
- David Jeyaraj Canadian freelance journalist
- David Thomas - New Democratic Party nominee for 2006 federal elections
- Rohan Fernando - Canadian flim maker
- Elagu V. Elaguppillai - Academic, Researcher, Entrepreneur and Political candidate in 2006 Municipal Elections in Markham, Ontario, endorsed by former Prime Minister Paul Martin
UK
- Murugan Thiruchelvam - British child prodigy chess player
- M.I.A.- British rapper Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam
- Darshini David BBC reporter and journalist
- George AlagiahBBC reporter and journalist
- James Coomarasamy BBC reporter and journalist
- Dr. S. Sabanathan (late) Prominent Thoracic surgeon at Bradford Royal Infimary.
Australia
- Kandiah Kamalesvaran Prominent singer known as Kamahl
- Christie Jayaratnam Eliezer - Australian Tamil recipient of Order of Australia
- Dr.S.V.Kasynathan Snr. Philosopher and Humanist