Foreign policy does not exist in a cultural vacuum. It is shaped by national experience and a country’s view of itself. In the case of India, the foreign policy paradigm is as deeply informed by its civilizational heritage as it is by modern ideas about national interest. The two concepts that reappear most frequently in Indian engagement with the world from Chanakya in the third century BCE to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2017 are autonomy and independence in decision making. Aparna Pandey is very objective, balanced and to the point in her analysis of all the competing as well as complementing trends in Indian policies and strategies. From Chanakya to Modi explores the deeper civilizational roots of Indian foreign policy. It identifies the neural roots of India’s pursue to exercise influence in the contemporary world.