Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived this afternoon in Jaffna, the first Indian premier to set foot in this war ravaged town in Sri Lanka's Tamil-dominated Northern Province, a day after he urged the country's new leaders to give greater autonomy to its Tamil minority.

Modi flew in by an IAF chopper after brief visits to the holy town of Anuradhapura where he offered prayers at the sacred Mahabodhi tree and Talaimannar where he flagged off a train service.

He is only the second foreign leader to visit the battle- scarred region. British Prime Minister David Cameron had visited Jaffna during a Commonwealth summit in Colombo in November 2013. Jaffna is about 400 km north of Colombo.

The PM's brief visit is seen as hugely symbolic, particularly after he called on the majority -- the Sinhalese government to fully implement the 13th amendment, a 1987 constitutional provision on greater autonomy and go beyond it in the reconciliation process.

Image: PM Modi holds talks with his Sri Lankan counterpart Wigneswaran in Jaffna. Photograph: MEA/Twitter