Summary:
The last king of Sri Lanka before the British took over in 1817 was of Telugu origin, he said. So when an indigenous, Telugu-speaking tribe believed to have been around for centuries outside India — in Sri Lanka, to be precise — was identified, it attracted the attention of researchers. Speaking to The Hindu, he said the Ahikuntaka (Telugu tribe) had been living on the island for many centuries but its population was on the decline. They are not migrants from India but natives of Sri Lanka. “Our team will collect all the facts about the existence of Telugus in Sri Lanka..