Archive · 9 Aug 2026
India Gifts Five Young Peacocks to UN Geneva
India has given five young peacocks as a special gift to the United Nations office in Geneva.
Four of the peacocks are blue and one is a rare white peacock.
Their colours match the colours of the United Nations flag.
Peacocks are the national bird of India and are seen as a symbol of beauty and grace.
India's ambassador, Arindam Bagchi, gave the birds to Tatiana Valovaya, who leads the UN office in Geneva.
This is not the first time India has shared peacocks.
About 45 years ago, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi sent a pair of peacocks from Delhi Zoo on her own plane, and India made another donation in 1981.
The gift is a friendly way for India to share its culture with the world.
India gifted five young peacocks—four blue and one rare white—to the United Nations Office at Geneva.
Indian envoy Arindam Bagchi handed the birds to UN Geneva Director-General Tatiana Valovaya.
The Indian peacock (Pavo cristatus), India's national bird, is associated with beauty, grace and symbolism.
The gift continues a tradition: Prime Minister Indira Gandhi sent a breeding pair from Delhi Zoo about 45 years ago, and India donated peacocks in 1981.
India frames the donation as cultural diplomacy and soft power meant to strengthen people-to-people connections.
- Who
- Arindam Bagchi, India's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN, who presented the birds, and Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General of the UN Office at Geneva, who received them.
- What
- India presented five young peacocks—four blue and one rare white—to the United Nations Office at Geneva as a cultural diplomacy gesture.
- When
- The article does not state the handover date; it notes the donation continues a tradition begun about 45 years ago with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
- Where
- At the United Nations Office in Geneva.
- Why
- To showcase India's cultural heritage, national bird and soft power, and to strengthen cultural diplomacy and people-to-people connections internationally.
- Gift
- Five young peacocks (four blue, one rare white)
- Scientific name
- Pavo cristatus (Indian peacock)
- Recipient
- United Nations Office at Geneva
- Presented by
- Arindam Bagchi, India's Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the UN
- Received by
- Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General of UN Geneva
- Previous donations
- Breeding pair sent by PM Indira Gandhi about 45 years ago; peacocks donated in 1981
- Symbolism
- Peacock is India's national bird; the birds' colours represent those of the UN