It is easy to confuse people from different races and backgrounds. South Asia is a multicultural subcontinent that has several religions, races within the same geographical area.
It is one of the most diverse locations in the World. Tamils and Sinhalese are two different races that can be found in the South Asian region.
Sinhalese vs Tamils
The difference between Sinhalese and Tamils is that most of the Tamil population reside in India and, the Sinhalese population belongs to Sri Lanka.
These two are distinct races from different countries, but they have a lot of shared aspects due to their geographical proximity.
There is a history of conflicts between these two communities.
Want to save this article for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own articles box!
The term Sinhalese refers to the ethnic group of people in Sri Lanka. They are the ethnic community that constitutes more than 80% of the Sri Lankan population.
Sinhalese people reside in the South, East, and West parts of the country. Most of the Sinhalese, around 70% of the population, are Theravada Buddhists.
The term Tamil refers to the language spoken by the Tamil community in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
The Tamil community is not limited to India, as they also constitute a minority population in other countries like Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Malaysia.
Tamils reside in the northern part of Sri Lanka.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Sinhalese | Tamils |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | It refers to the Sinhalese ethnic group in Sri Lanka. | It refers to the Tamil ethnic group in India and other countries. |
| Religion | Theravada Buddhism is the major religion among the Sinhalese. | Hinduism is the primary religion among the Tamils, with other minority religions. |
| Language | Sinhala is the language spoken by them. | They speak the Tamil language. |
| Origins | There are claims that most Sinhalese are from the North Indian Bengal region. | Tamils belong to the Dravidian race and were the original inhabitants of India. |
| Population | Around 17 million people. | Around 76 million people are in different countries. |
What is Sinhalese?
The term Sinhalese is used to refer to the ethnic group of people in Sri Lanka. The Sinhalese are the majority in Sri Lanka, and they constitute around 80% of the whole population.
The Sinhalese population resides in the South, East, and West parts of the country.
A huge majority of the Sinhalese population follow the religion of Theravada Buddhism, and there is also a Christian minority.
There are around 17 million Sinhalese in Sri Lanka. They speak the Sinhala language, one of the official languages in Sri Lanka, along with Tamil.
Since the independence of Sri Lanka, there has been discrimination against the Tamils in the country.
Between the 1980s and 2009, this increased enormously as Sinhalese mobs carried out ethnic pogroms against the Tamils.
Sri Lankan Army played a major role in initiating a civil war in the country.
The word Sinhala also means Lion people. The origins of the Sinhala people can be traced back to West Bengal and South Indian states from the Hela tribes.
The Sinhala language spoken by them was heavily influenced by the ancient Pali language. The Buddhism religion that originated in India has several practitioners in Sri Lanka.
The genocide against Tamils ended in 2009 with more than 100,000 killed and 800,000 displaced as refugees.
What is Tamils?
The term Tamil refers to the language that is spoken by the Tamil community. The Tamil community is majorly found in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Other than India, the Tamil community has a significant presence in a few countries like Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, and Canada. The Tamils in Sri Lanka live in the Northern parts of the country.
A large majority of the Tamils are Hindus, but there is also other significant religion like Islam and Christianity.
There are around 76 million Tamils all over the World. The Tamil diaspora can be found in several countries, and Tamil is one of the official languages in Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Malaysia.
The Tamil community in Sri Lanka has been historically discriminated against by the Sinhalese government.
LTTE, a Tamil organization, fought for the right to self-determination of the Sri Lankan Tamils.
It was opposed by the Sri Lankan government, and that resulted in a civil war.
Around 2009, the violence came to an end with the killing of the LTTE leader Prabhakaran by the Sri Lankan Army.
Rape of Sri Lankan Tamil women, blasting hospitals in Tamil areas, and several more horrific crimes were committed by the Army.
It left around a million Tamils as refugees in other countries. Tamils continue to live in Sri Lanka with less influence and political representation.
Main Differences Between Sinhalese and Tamils
- Sinhalese refers to the ethnic group in Sri Lanka. Tamil refers to the Tamil community in India and other countries.
- Theravada Buddhism is the primary religion in Sri Lanka. Hinduism is the primary religion of Tamils, along with Islam and Christian minorities.
- Sinhala is the language spoken by Sinhalese. Tamil is the language spoken by them.
- There are around 17 million Sinhalese in Sri Lanka and other countries. There are around 76 million Tamils in India and other countries.
- The origins of the Sinhalese can be traced to West Bengal in India. Tamils are the original inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent and, they belong to the Dravidian race.
I’ve put so much effort writing this blog post to provide value to you. It’ll be very helpful for me, if you consider sharing it on social media or with your friends/family. SHARING IS ♥️
Piyush Yadav has spent the past 25 years working as a physicist in the local community. He is a physicist passionate about making science more accessible to our readers. He holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science. You can read more about him on his bio page.
