Myanmar's reclusive military ruler Than Shwe received a red-carpet welcome in New Delhi Tuesday as he began the formal leg of a state visit to India amid protests and criticism from rights groups.

The general was accorded a full ceremonial welcome at the presidential palace, although the traditional guard of honour was missing as rain forced the event indoors.

Than Shwe, 77, met Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna and was scheduled to hold talks later Tuesday with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The junta chief, who oversaw the ruthless suppression of pro-democracy protests led by Myanmar's monks in 2007, also laid a wreath at the mausoleum to India's independence hero and global icon of non-violence, Mahatma Gandhi.

Human rights groups have condemned India's decision to bestow the legitimacy of a full state visit on Than Shwe, who is regarded as a pariah by many Western nations which have targeted his regime with sanctions.

Once a staunch supporter of Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, India began engaging the junta in the mid-1990s as security, energy and strategic priorities began to override concerns over democracy and human rights.

As well as needing the military regime's help to counter ethnic separatists operating along their common border, India is eyeing oil and gas fields in Myanmar -- formerly Burma -- and fears losing out to China in the race for strategic influence in Asia.

China is the junta's key ally and trading partner, and an eager investor in the isolated state's sizeable natural resources.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited Myanmar last month and signed a raft of deals on trade, finance, energy, science and technology.

New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said India had "mortgaged" its voice on human rights issues to realpolitik, and called on Singh to speak out against abuses in Myanmar.

"Singh should make a point to publicly voice principled criticism over the rigging of Burma's electoral laws and continued restrictions on basic freedoms in Burma," said Elaine Pearson, HRW's Asia director.

Than Shwe's visit prompted protests from pro-democracy Myanmar demonstrators in New Delhi on Monday, who shouted slogans and carried posters that labelled the leader "a murderer of innocent people" and a military dictator.

The junta, which has ruled with an iron fist for nearly 50 years, has promised to hold Myanmar's first elections since 1990 later this year.

Western nations have dismissed the proposed poll as a sham, and Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy is boycotting the ballot.

Keen to obtain international legitimacy for the vote, Shwe is expected to seek India's endorsement of the poll during his visit.

The International Federation for Human Rights, which represents 164 organisations across the world, has described India's hosting of Than Shwe as an act "unbecoming of the world's largest democracy".

India is Myanmar's fourth largest trading partner after Thailand, China, and Singapore, and a major investor in the country's burgeoning energy sector.

Two state-owned Indian firms are partners in a consortium working to extract natural gas from major deposits located off the coast of Arakan state in western Myanmar.

(Source: AFP)