Prof. Himanshu Prabha Ray is Tagore National Fellow, Jawaharlal Nehru University. She was recipient of the Anneliese Maier research award of the Humboldt Foundation (2014 – 2019) and was affiliated with the Distant Worlds Programme, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich. She is a former Professor, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University and First Chairperson, National Monuments Authority, Ministry of Culture. She is the Series Editor of Routledge Archaeology and Religion in South Asia. Some of her recent books include: Coastal Shrines and Transnational Maritime Networks across India and Southeast Asia, Routledge: London and New York, 2021; Archaeology and Buddhism in South Asia, Routledge: London and New York, 2018; and The Return of the Buddha: Ancient Symbols for a New Nation, Routledge, 2014.