India deliberately delayed the SAARC Summit in Sri Lanka in 1991, a decision that unsettled President Premadasa. Despite his repeated efforts, he failed to secure the Indian Prime Minister’s presence at the summit. The opposition ridiculed Premadasa over India’s delaying tactics, yet he proceeded with a one-day summit despite Indian disturbances.
At the time, Narasimha Rao was India’s Prime Minister. Those shaping Indo-Sri Lankan relations advised him to boycott the summit, likely due to Premadasa’s anti-Indian stance. While Rao initially sought to delay the event, he ultimately agreed to attend, aiming to shift India’s approach towards Sri Lanka. His goal was to move beyond policies dictated by the Tamil issue and instead foster economic ties between the two nations.
Rao’s visit was significant as he became the first Indian Prime Minister to set foot in Sri Lanka after Rajiv Gandhi’s 1987 attack by a naval officer. However, his trip was strictly for the SAARC Summit, not a state visit. No Indian Prime Minister undertook a state visit to Sri Lanka until 2015, when Narendra Modi broke the long-standing absence. Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh also visited Sri Lanka, but only for SAARC summits.
Now, Modi is set to visit Sri Lanka again next month at the invitation of Anura Kumara. This visit is historic, as it comes at the request of the JVP President, despite the JVP’s past opposition to India. The naval officer who attacked Rajiv Gandhi in 1987 adhered to a political ideology that the JVP once championed. In a parallel to Rao’s decision regarding Premadasa, Modi’s visit reflects a shift in India’s approach, engaging with a leader whose party was once fiercely anti-India.
