Bahrain is the home for over 7,000 Tamils, mostly professionals and workers. Qatar is the home for about 4,000 Tamils, mostly from Tamil Nadu. In December 2000 the Qatar Tamil Sangam was inaugurated for conducting Tamil cultural programmes, teaching of Thirukkural and conducting Tamil elocution contests for Tamil children. In United Arab Emirates (UAE), there are about 10,000 Tamils spread over the several states, having come from Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka as professionals and workers in many sectors.
Tamils residing in these countries have started to build up the feeling of togetherness. Few Hindu temples have been erected in Oman and Dubai. Pongal is celebrated on a grand scale in Dubai and in a few other states. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are home for a substantial number of Tamils who are recent migrants and Pongal celebration is gearing up here.
