Mahl people refers to the ethnic Maldivians of India (i.e. People of Minicoy and migrant communities from Minicoy). They are one of the three subgroups of the Maldivian people and speak the Mahl dialect of Maldivian language which is a member of the southern group of Indo-Aryan languages. All Mahls are native to the island of Minicoy in Union territory of Lakshadweep, India, which was formerly a part of the Maldive Islands.