Tamil people have been traditionally living in some other parts of India - for examples , Hebbar and Mandyam Tamils of southern Karnataka , the Tamils of Palakkad in Kerala , and the Tamils of Pune , Maharashtra . There are two groups of Tamils in Sri Lanka : the Sri Lankan Tamils and the Indian Tamils . The Sri Lankan Tamils ( or Ceylon Tamils ) are descendants of the Tamils of the old Jaffna Kingdom and east coast chieftaincies called Vannimais .