Modi and his team is a far cry from the Indian delegation that attended the San Francisco Conference in 1945, when the UN Charter was signed. Indeed, in the seven decades since the UN’s formation, India’s role in the international body has dramatically transformed from a colonial entity into a global economic power vying for a seat at its highest table.
Quartz presents a photographic chronicle of India’s evolution within the UN.
A. Ramaswami Mudaliar, supply member of the Governor General’s executive council and leader of the delegation from India, signing the UN Charter at a ceremony held at the Veterans’ War Memorial Building in San Francisco on June 26, 1945.
Source: UN Photo/Rosenberg
Partial view of the 228th meeting of the Security Council at Lake Success, New York, as Sir Mohammed Zafrullah Khan, Pakistani minister of foreign affairs, presents his government’s case in the dispute with India concerning the situation in Jammu and Kashmir on January, 16, 1948.
Source: UN Photo/KB
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, chairman of the delegation of India, addressing the General Assembly on the second day of its resumed general debate on November 11, 1952 in New York.
Source: UN Photo/MB
From left: Gamal Abdel Nasser, president of the United Arab Republic; Dr Sukarno, president of the Republic of Indonesia; Jawaharlal Nehru, prime minister of India; Dr Kwame Nkrumah, president of the Republic of Ghana; and Mr Saeb Salaam, president of the Council of Ministers of Lebanon on October 04, 1960 in New York.
Source: UN Photo/Marvin Bolotsky
Indian troops return home from Congo after being part of the UN forces on October 10, 1963. Source: UN Photo/BZ
Prime minister of India, Indira Gandhi, visits the UN headquarters in New York on October 14, 1968. She addressed the General Assembly and held discussions with secretary-general U. Thant.
Source: UN Photo/Yutaka Nagata
Secretary-general Kurt Waldheim (right) met with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of India, PV Narasimha Rao, at the UN headquarters in New York on March 10, 1980. Source: UN Photo/Yutaka Nagata
Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi addresses the General Assembly in New York on October 19, 1987.
Source: UN Photo/John Isaac
India’s Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao addresses members
of the UN Security Council on January 31, 1992 in New York.
Source:UN Photo/Milton Grant
Inder Kumar Gujral, prime minister and minister for foreign affairs of India, addressing the 52nd session of the General Assembly in New York on September 24, 1997.
Source:UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
India’s prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee addresses the 57th session of the
General Assembly in New York on September 13, 2002. Source: UN Photo/Michelle Poiré
India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addresses the high-level plenary meeting of the 60th session of the UN General Assembly (2005 World Summit) on September 15, 2005 in New York. The World Summit was the largest gathering of world leaders in history.
Source:UN Photo/Joshua Kristal
Sonia Gandhi addresses the informal General Assembly plenary meeting on the first observance of the International Day of Non-Violence, at UN headquarters in New York on October 02, 2007.
Source:UN Photo/Marco Castro
Narendra Modi, prime minister of India, addresses the general debate of the sixty-ninth session
of the General Assembly on September 27, 2014.
Source:UN Photo/Cia Pak
This article was originally published on qz.com.