the historical english term for the group is "syrians" (as in, e.g., ephraim the syrian). it is still in use, not only in india, where it is applied especially to the various groups of saint thomas christians, but also generally, although, after the 1936 declaration of the syrian arab republic, the term "syrian" has come also to designate citizens of that state regardless of ethnicity, with syriac-arameans and assyrians only being indigenous ethnic minorities within that nation. the designation "assyrians" has also become current in "english" besides the traditional "syrians" since the late 19th century and particularly after the assyrian genocide and the resulting assyrian independence movement.