The World Tamil Conference (Tamil: உலகத் தமிà®´் à®®ாநாடு) is a series of occassional conferences to discuss the social growth of the Tamil language. Each conference is attended by thousands of Tamil enthusiasts around the world. Conferences are hosted in various cities in India, as well as world cities with a significant Tamil population. The conference aims in promoting the rich heritage of Tamil language, though many see it also as a political rallying point for electoral fortunes by the ruling dispensation in TN.
A similar conference called World Classical Tamil Conference 2010 unapproved by the International Association for Tamil Research was held in Tamilnadu conducted by the Dravida_Munnetra_Kazhagam under the leadership of M. Karunanidhi. Not all agreed with the academic and intellectual rigor of the latter event. Mr.Karunanidhi inaugurated a separate website for this conference.
# Official title Host City Host Country Year Arranged by
1 1st World Tamil Conference Kuala Lumpur Malaysia 1966
2 2nd World Tamil Conference Chennai India 1968 M._Bhaktavatsalam and C. N. Annadurai
3 3rd World Tamil Conference Paris France 1970
4 4th World Tamil Conference Jaffna Sri Lanka 1974
5 5th World Tamil Conference Madurai India 1981 M. G. Ramachandran
6 6th World Tamil Conference Kuala Lumpur Malaysia 1987
7 7th World Tamil Conference Port Louis Mauritius 1989
8 8th World Tamil Conference Thanjavur India 1995 J. Jayalalitha
9 9th World Tamil Conference Coimbatore India 2010 M. Karunanidhi.
