Announcement of new research on Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora and Hinduism in Australia

Nirukshi Perera

Nirukshi Perera, a Sri-Lankan PhD student raised in Australia, has recently been awarded a doctorate by Monash University for her thesis on the adaptation of the Tamil language and Tamil Saiva religion in Australia and on the efforts of Sri Lankan Tamils to transmit language and religion to the next generation.

Non-white immigration and multiculturalism are once more under the spotlight with the Australian government’s proposed changes to the English language requirements for citizenship, and with the recent release of the 2016 census results. The figures for the number of people who speak Tamil and Sinhala at home have grown significantly since the 2011 census, with approximately 74,000 (up 45%) and 65,000 (up 34%) respectively. This means that for the part of the Australian population that speaks a language other than English at home, Tamil is the 13th top language and Sinhala is the 19th. In addition, Hinduism continues to be the fastest-growing non-Christian religion since 2001.

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Therefore, this research is a timely report on the experiences of Sri Lankan migrants and a focus on the role that language and religion play in their lives in Australia and in the formation of identities for the second- and third- generation. In fact, this is the first thesis to focus on the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora in Australia.

Niru conducted an ethnographic study in a Tamil Hindu temple to investigate what languages are used in the temple space and to show how the temple, as a religious institution, is helping migrants to maintain and transmit the Tamil language and Saiva religion to the next generation.

The study found that the temple has a positive influence on the development of young Tamils’ religious, ethnic and linguistic identities and it provides a safe space for children to use Tamil in a new way. This new way is termed “translanguaging” and it allows for children to use all their languages often resulting in speech that mixes Tamil and English. While English is generally their stronger language, their use of Tamil in translanguaging is evidence of the significant influence of their heritage religion and culture in their contemporary Australian lives.

The thesis is available online at: https://doi.org/10.4225/03/58ffdf87350a0