Kautilya's Arthasastra: Timeless Strategies For Modern Governance

Dr. Vinayak Rajat Bhat is serving as an Associate Professor at the Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS), Chanakya University, Bengaluru. He earned his Ph.D. from the Rashtriya Samskrit Sansthan (presently Central Sanskrit University), Sringeri, and received scholarly training from eminent teachers including Late Prof. R. Devanathanof. B. Mahadevan of IIM Bangalore, and Dr. Chandrashekhar Bhat of CSU. He is currently associated with Bharat ki Soch as a Lead Guide. Dr. Bhat is actively engaged with the Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) Division of the Ministry of Education (MoE). He serves as the Coordinator for the development of a SWAYAM Thematic Minor under the theme "Political Science, Economics and Strategic Science." He is also associated as a Lead Guide with Bharat Ki Soch, a Delhi-based think tank, and contributes as a resource person for Bhāratīya Arthaśāstra Tradition in Faculty Training Programs conducted by the IKS Division and the University Grants Commission (UGC). He is also engaged with Vyoma Linguistics Labs Foundation in many of its projects. His research interests include Vyākaraṇa, Bhāratīya Arthaśāstra Tradition, Āyurveda, and the Itihāsas. A polyglot scholar fluent in six languages and proficient in multiple scripts, Dr. Bhat works extensively on Sanskrit texts as an editor, translator, and researcher. He co-authored Introduction to Indian Knowledge Systems: Concepts and Applications (PHI Learning Ltd.) and translated Learn Sanskrit Through Your Favourite Prayers. He also served as Specialist Sanskrit Advisor for the Wellcome Collection project "Ayurvedic Man: Encounters with Indian Medicine." Dr. Bhat is a member of the expert committee for the IKS Centre at KSU and has served as an expert for the Bharat Bodh course at IGNOU. He also contributed to the National Curriculum Framework for Knowledge of India and earlier served for five years as the Head of the School of Vedic Knowledge Systems at Chinmaya Vishwa Vidyapeeth.

Tejusvi Shukla is a National Security Researcher currently serving as the Assistant Director (Research) at Bharat ki Soch, a think tank based in New Delhi. In this capacity, she leads research initiatives and projects focusing on national security and governance through the lens of Kauṭilya's Arthaśāstra. Additionally, she is a doctoral candidate at O.P. Jindal Global University, where her Ph.D. research focuses on the sophisticated domain of Cognitive Warfare, examining how information and psychological influence reshape modern conflict. Her professional trajectory is marked by diverse stints with various security and policy establishments. She previously served as a Consultant at the Centre for Contemporary China Studies (CCCS) within the Ministry of External Affairs, focusing on China's security and foreign policy. At Chanakya University, Bengaluru, she contributed to the Ministry of Education's Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) initiative, where she analysed the contemporary relevance of Kauṭilya's Arthaśāstra to the cognitive dimensions of power. She started her career as a Research Assistant with the Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), an autonomous think tank of the Indian Army, contributing to the significant commemorative volume Surprise, Strategy, and Vijay: 20 Years of Kargil and Beyond (2019). Beyond her formal institutional roles, she has frequently undertaken independent research projects with various security establishments, offering vital operational and strategic perspectives. She has published widely across prestigious national and international platforms, effectively synthesising traditional philosophical frameworks with the urgent requirements of 21st-century defense.