Karava

Karava (Sinhala: කරාවා, romanized: Karāvā) is a Sinhalese caste of Sri Lanka, whose ancestors migrated throughout history from the adjacent Coromandel coast, claiming lineage to the Kaurava royalty of the old Kingdom of Kuru in Northern India. The Tamil equivalent is Karaiyar. Both groups are also known as the Kurukula (Kuru clan). Epigraphic evidence as well as the Janawamsaya, indicate some of the migration to the early historical era (though archaeology points to maritime links between the Island and the Coromandel coast from the protohistoric era). Like the other coastal castes such as the Duravas and Salagamas, the Karava migration continued to Sri Lanka between 13th to 18th century from South India and are of historical Dravidian ethnic origin.

The last mass migration to Sri Lanka happened in the 15th century from Tamil Nadu to fight against the Mukkuvar confederation as mentioned in the Mukkara Hatana. They have also given great importance to trade and commerce. The elite families are involved in entrepreneurial activities including the development of plantation agriculture such as coconut, tea and rubber. They also played a leading role in advocating constitutional reforms and socialism prior to independence as well as in the emergence of Sinhala Buddhist nationalism in post-independent Sri Lanka. It is estimated that they form 10% of the Sinhalese population.