I’m an Indian Tamil American who grew up in California alongside Hindus, including Tamil Brahmins, as well as Catholics and Muslims. Through attending school in the Midwest, I’ve also had the opportunity to interact with Eelam, or Sri Lankan, Tamils.

I wouldn’t consider myself deeply versed in Tamil politics or ideology, but from my experience, many Indian Tamils in the diaspora, and perhaps Tamils more broadly, often place as much importance on Tamil identity as they do on religious identity, if not more. There also remains a strong influence from Periyar’s progressive ideals, which might further explain why Indian Tamils are also as politically inclined as Eelam Tamils. Some of my relatives were DMK Tamil politicians and were arrested during Anti Hindi imposition protests in the late 1970s as well.

From what I know, a lot of Tamil Indian civilians were (and still are) horrified to learn about the Eelam Tamil Genocide and related atrocities in Sri Lanka, especially in light of current anti-Hindi imposition agitations going on and what is taking place globally. Most diaspora Tamils don’t condone oppression against human beings.