09/28/2026
Proudly Eelam Tamil
Canadian Tamil Youth and Students Stand With Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Affirm Our Eelam Tamil Identity
நாம் ஈழத் தமிழர்கள்
“I love who I am as a Tamil Eelam woman.” – Maitreyi Ramakrishnan
The Tamil Youth Organization (TYO Canada) and the undersigned Tamil Students’ Associations stand with Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, and are proud of the principled stance she has taken on her identity. Her words speak for generations of Eelam Tamils. Today, we join her and say it together: we are Eelam Tamil youth and students, and we are proud of who we are.
Like Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, many of us are the children of families who were forced to leave Tamileelam and rebuilt their lives in Canada. Our people were displaced due to the genocide perpertrated by the Sri Lankan state. Being Eelam Tamil is part of our identity. It lives in our homes, our language, our kitchens, our traditions and our places of worship. It is not a memory we inherited. It is an identity we live every day.
We identify as Eelam Tamils. Our identity comes from our unique history, our traditional, the sacrifices of our Maaveerar, our ancestral homeland and our people. We are not Sri Lankan. We reject any identity imposed on us, and we affirm the right of every Tamil to name who they are, with pride and without apology.
To Maitreyi: thank you for standing firm and saying it out loud. You reminded us that there is nothing to hide and nothing to explain.
To every young Tamil: be proud of your language, your food, your traditions, your heritage and your story. Speak your Tamil. Name yourself with pride.
We are proudly Eelam Tamil.
