Mahatma Gandhi made his first and last trip to Sri Lanka then known as Ceylon and arrived in Colombo on November 12, 1927.   Mahatma Gandhi arrived at Jaffna railway station on the morning of November 27, 1927. He toured Puttur, Achveli, Velvettiturai, Tondaimannar, Point Pedro and Chavakacheri and visited Jaffna Hindu Parameshwara and Manipay Hindu colleges, attended cigar factory workers meeting, and ladies meeting at Ridgeway Hall.

In his speeches in Jaffna, as elsewhere in the island, Gandhi stayed scrupulously clear of politics. There were no polemics against colonial rule, no demands for constitutional reform or democratic representation. The avatar the Mahatma had chosen for the tour was that of the social reformer and theologian. Thus, he was especially pleased to find that the town of Jaffna was more-or-less dry. He told a large public meeting that this "closing of the pestilential taverns and liquour dens is a great step in the right direction". Non-violence, the eradication of untouchability, inter-religious harmony: these perhaps were, and are, the central tenets of the Gandhian message.