In what is going to be a key message of PM Modi on regional connectivity, PM Modi will be traveling to Tamil Nadu’s Rameswaram from Sri Lanka on 6th April. On that day, which is Ram Navmi, PM Modi will be praying at Sri Arulmigu Ramanathaswamy Temple & inaugurate the new Pamban Bridge. The temple, which holds immense religious significance and is dedicated to Lord Shiva, is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga temples and a key site in the Char Dham pilgrimage.
Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu have been increasingly linked with each other. A significant development in recent years is the resumption of ferry services between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. The passenger ferry service between Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu and Kankesanthurai (KKS) near Jaffna in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province was relaunched on October 14, 2023. Direct flights from Chennai to Jaffna resumed in December 2022 after being suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic, cutting travel time to about 75 minutes.
A more ambitious project under consideration is a land bridge across the Palk Strait between Dhanushkodi in Tamil Nadu and Talaimannar in Sri Lanka, spanning about 23 km. First proposed by Sri Lanka in 2002, this idea gained traction again in 2023 when both nations agreed to conduct a feasibility study during then Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s visit to India.
PM Modi will be in Sri Lanka from 4th to 6th April, during which he will be in Colombo and Anuradhapura. Anuradhapura has been Sri Lanka’s capital in the past and has had a deep connection with India. In the 3rd century BCE, during the reign of King Devanampiya Tissa, Emperor Ashoka of India sent his son Mahinda (or Mahendra) to Anuradhapura. Anuradhapura became a major center for Theravada Buddhism, hosting philosophers like Buddhaghosa, who had ties to Indian Buddhist traditions.
PM Modi is the first foreign leader that the new Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will be hosting. This will be PM Modi’s fourth visit to Sri Lanka since taking office in 2014, with previous trips occurring in 2015, 2017, and 2019. The PM will be travelling to Sri Lanka from Thailand, where he will be attending the BIMSTEC summit.