Member of a group of non-Indo-European peoples of the Deccan region of India and northern Sri Lanka. The Dravidian language family is large, with about 20 languages spoken in southern India; the main ones are Tamil,which has a literary tradition 2,000 years old; Kanarese; Telugu; Malayalam; and Tulu.
Green represents the Islamic minority. Orange stands for the Hindu Tamils. The sword denotes authority. The four pipul leaves symbolize Buddhism. Effective date: 7 September 1978.