India, July 4 -- Over two millennia ago, long before the digital age of encryption and satellite surveillance, the foundations of sophisticated intelligence systems were laid in ancient India. From Kautilya's clinical analysis in the Arthashastra to the pragmatic diplomacy of Tiruvalluvar's Tirukkural, statecraft was viewed as a rigorous science in which information served as a vital instrument of power. These ancient texts discuss espionage, diplomacy, and governance in ways that continue to resonate in the modern era of strategic competition and information warfare.

Kautilya, in his Arthashastra, described a sophisticated intelligence system comparable to a modern secret service, a crucial instrument of power. Secret agents (gudha puru...