Article snapshot taken from[REDACTED] with creative commons attribution-sharealike license.
Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat.
We can research this topic together.
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.
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
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
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
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)
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
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.
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
V. Casipillai - Crown Proctor, President of the Jaffna Hindu Board, co-founder of Jaffna Hindu College, founder of Parvathy Maha Vidyalayam and other educational institutions
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
V. Muralitharan (Karuna Amman) - senior Tamil Tiger commander, defected to the Sri Lankan Government; Government Minister and appointed Member of Parliament
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
A. Canagaratnam - member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon, Chairman of the first Urban Council of Jaffna; founder of Canagaratnam Maha Vidyalayam (formerly Stanley College) in Jaffna
S. J. V. Chelvanayakam - political leader of the Sri Lankan Tamil people; founder and leader of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (Federal Party); leader of the Tamil United Liberation Front; Member of Parliament
A. Coomaraswamy - member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon
James T. Rutnam - historian, educationalist, author and politician
A. Sabapathy - member of Legislative Council of Ceylon; one of the founders of Jaffna Hindu College; editor of Hindu Organ; President of Jaffna Association
T. M. Sabaratnam - member of Legislative Council of Ceylon; President of the Vattrapalai Kannagi Amman Kovil Trust
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
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
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
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.
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
Category
