US House Speaker Pelosi on a 5-day 'India only' visit

Pelosi, a powerful Democrat on Capitol Hill, will have her official meetings on March 20 with the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other senior leaders.

Unlike other top lawmakers who include a few countries in their visits overseas, Pelosi is on a "India Only" visit.

She is expected to discuss major issues in the bilateral relations between India and the United States including the civilian nuclear deal.

Like her colleagues in the US Senate, who have visited India recently, Pelosi may also stress on a time-frame for the submission of the deal to the Congress, where she will be the major player in case of a final vote in the House.

Given her concerns on environment, that issue is also likely to attract considerable attention both in her official and non-official meetings.

Besides, the issue of Tibet may also be into the focus during Pelosi's visit to India especially in the context of the recent crackdown by China in the capital city of Lhasa.

The Speaker is an admirer of the Dalai Lama and has backed his calls for dialogue while generally being sharply critical of Beijing.

In the aftermath of the recent trouble in Tibet, Pelosi slammed China for the crackdown and called on the world to condemn it.

"The violent response by Chinese police forces to peaceful protesters in Tibet is disgraceful. It must be met with strong condemnation by the United States government and the international community" Pelosi said in a statement.

"It is long past time for Beijing to make progress on a solution that respects the human rights of every Tibetan. The plight of the people of Tibet is a challenge to the conscience of the world and the United States must be prepared to confront the Chinese government when they violate the human rights of their people," she said.

In the course of her visit and programmes in India, the California Congresswoman will be visiting Agra and Mumbai as well.

This is the second time that a United States Speaker is visiting India, the first being the Republican Dennis Hastert in 2006.