Narendra
Modi will begin his first appointment to Britain as Indian prime minister on
Thursday, looking to boost investment in his flourishing country and win the
backing of a large and influential migration community.
Modi will have lunch with Queen Elizabeth -- an honor usually
only accorded to heads of state -- and address parliament as Britain rolls out
the red carpet for the leader of one of the world's fastest-growing major
economies.
Around 60,000 British Indians are expected to attend a sell-out
rally at Wembley Stadium owed as the biggest reception ever given to a foreign
leader in Britain.
It is a remarkable turnaround for a politician who was
effectively banned from visiting the former colonial power for nearly a decade
over anti-Muslim violence in his home state of Gujarat in 2002.
Britain was among the first Western countries to end its boycott
of Modi, who has denied any wrong doing over the violence that killed more than
1,000 people, mostly Muslims.
Prime Minister David Cameron will come under pressure to raise
the subject of human rights in India after 40 lawmakers including opposition
leader Jeremy Corbyn signed a motion for parliament to debate a host of issues.
They range from unproven abuses by police in Indian-administered
Kashmir to an Indian government ban on a BBC documentary about a 2012 gang rape
in New Delhi that shocked the world.
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