ABSTRACT
About 63 million Tamils live in India, most of them concentrated in Tamil Nadu ‘Tamil Country, India’s southeasternmost state. The Tamil language they speak is the oldest Dravidian language for which written evidence exists. In addition to its roughly 90 percent Hindu population, Tamil Nadu has a substantial number of Christians and Muslims, and some Jains. The hills host some of the state’s tribal populations—Kurumbas, Iruḷas, Kotas, Todas, and Paṇiyas—all of whom speak Dravidian languages. These tribes do not consider themselves Tamils, although they do participate in Hindu worship and in some cases identify themselves as Hindus. Some have converted to Christianity.
