CUPW Celebrates Tamil Heritage Month

January is Tamil Heritage Month. It is a time to recognize the tremendous contribution of Tamil Canadians to our nation’s social, economic, political, and cultural fabric. It’s also a time to learn about and embrace the Tamil culture.

The Tamil people are an ethnic group originally from southern India and Sri Lanka with a recorded history going back more than 2,000 years. The Tamil community is linked through dialect — Tamil is one of the world's longest surviving classical languages.

Discrimination and violence against Tamils began soon after Sri Lanka achieved independence in 1948. The passage of the Sinhala Only Act in 1956 recognized Sinhalese as the only official language, effectively barring Tamils from holding positions in the government. In 1983, a mass anti-Tamil pogrom – a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group – killed about 3,000 Tamils and uprooted more than 800,000, and triggered a violent civil war that would last until 2009.

Uprooted from their homeland by the Sri Lankan State due to the Tamil Genocide, Tamils have been fighting for many years for freedom and justice, and their independence to create a country known as Tamil Eelam.

There is evidence, according to the Canadian Census, that Tamils first arrived in Canada in 1948, but most came after the Civil War began. Today, Canada is thought to constitute the largest Tamil diaspora in the world. 

Tamil Heritage Month was first recognized by the federal government in 2016. The month of January is an important month for the Tamil community, and it coincides with the traditional harvest known as Thai Pongo, which will be held January 15 to 18, 2024.

Many CUPW members claim Tamil origin. We are proud of the Tamil heritage in CUPW and invite all our sisters, brothers, and comrades to celebrate Tamil Heritage Month by participating in an event or activity near you!

In Solidarity,