Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism is the conviction of the
Sri Lankan Tamil people, a minority ethnic group in the South Asian
island country of
Sri Lanka (formerly known as Ceylon), that they have the right to constitute an independent or autonomous political community. This idea has not always existed. Sri Lankan Tamil national awareness began during the era of
British rule during the nineteenth century, as Tamil
Hindu revivalists tried to counter
Protestant missionary activity. The revivalists, led by
Arumuga Navalar, used literacy as a tool to spread Hinduism and its principles.