INDIAN ORIGIN TAMILS (IOT) of Sri Lanka are Tamil people of Indian origin, also known as Malayaga Tamilar, who predominantly descended from workers sent from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka in the 19th & 20th centuries to work in coffee, tea and rubber plantations. They were instrumental in the development of the plantation sector. These Tamil-speaking people mostly lived in the central highlands, also known as the Malayagam or Hill country.
The first group of Indian Origin Tamils (IOT) arrived in Sri Lanka, then called Ceylon, in 1823 as labourers to work in coffee and then tea, rubber, and cocoa plantations in the hilly regions of Sri Lanka. Later in the 1900s, substantial numbers of Tamils from India also came to settle in Ceylon as financial entrepreneurs and grocers. They were the trading community of IOT, which was not part of the plantation economy and who had come to Ceylon since then.
After the British takeover of the administration of Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon) in the early 19th Century, they involved themselves in various activities, including economic enterprises such as plantation and agriculture.
The Indian Origin Tamils were put through immense hardship during the British rule in India and Sri Lanka. During the 1830s, Indian Origin Tamils working in coffee estates were not provided with wages. Instead, they were asked to trade coffee beans gathered by them for commodities from shops. Only after 100 years of immigration to Sri Lanka did the Indian Origin Tamils’ hardships become known to the international community.
Source: Philately Sri Lanka -- https://philately.lk/bulletin-200-years-of-indian-origin-tamils-in-sri-lanka/
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