In photos: 70 years of India’s growing clout at the United Nations

Early on Sept. 24, Narendra Modi landed in New York—his second visit since becoming India’s prime minister—to attend a series of meetings on the sidelines of the United Nations’ 70th anniversary.

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.