In pics: Statesman Vajpayee united India with the world

Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures as he walks past a cutout of former Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee during the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Legislative Meeting at Gandhinagar.

On 10 August 2007, the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (C) then Leader of Opposition and BJP leader, Lal Krishna Advani (3L) then Opposition Vice-President candidate Najma Heptulla (2L) BJP then President Rajnath Singh (2R) and then BJP members of Parliament (MPs) arrived to cast their votes in the Indian Vice-President election at Parliament in New Delhi.

On 24 August 2005, the then Indian Prime Ministrer Manmohan Singh (L) greeted former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee during an all-party meeting in New Delhi.

On 5th January 2004, the then Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf (R) and the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (L) shook hands during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 12th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in Islamabad.

On 6th January 2006, the then Heads of State and Government of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations posed for a group image during the closing ceremony of the 12th SAARC summit in Islamabad

On 1st January 2004, the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (L) presented a bouquet of flowers to the then President A.P.J Abdul Kalam on the occasion of the new year in New Delhi.

On 21 November 2003, the then US president Bill Clinton (L) shook hands with the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee before a meeting in New Delhi.

This picture was taken on 19 November 2003, showing the then Indian opposition leader and President of Congress Party Sonia Gandhi (L) talking with the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as they met at the presentation of the India Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development 2002 at The Presidential Palace in New Delhi.

On 12 November 2003, the then Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee during their meeting at Moscow's Kremlin.

On 11 November 2003, the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (2nd L) inspected a Russian honour guard after arriving at Vnukovo II, the government airport some 20 kilometres outside Moscow.

On 30 October 2003, Britain's Prince Charles (L) shook hands with the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (R) during a meeting in New Delhi. Prince Charles was on a nine-day visit to India, during which he had spent four days in India's capital before undertaking engagements in Jodpur, Jaipur and Bombay.

On 9th November 2001, the then US President George W. Bush (R) and the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (L) held a joint press conference at the White House in Washignton DC. Bush and Vajpayee met earlier in the Oval Office to discuss the war in Afghanistan. Bush said he and Vajpayee would "fight terrorism together" and declared he wanted to build a "fundamentally" different bilateral relationship.

On 06 October 2001, the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair (L) stood alongside the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee before a press conference at the Prime Minister's residence in Delhi.