Himanshu Prabha Ray is Honorary Professor of the Distant Worlds Programme, Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany. She is former Chairperson, National Monuments Authority, Ministry of Culture in New Delhi, India, and former Professor in the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India. Her research interests include Maritime History and Archaeology of the Indian Ocean, the History of Archaeology in South and Southeast Asia and the Archaeology of Religion in Asia. Her recent books include Archaeology and Buddhism in South Asia; edited volume, Decolonising Heritage in South Asia: The Global, the National and the Transnational; Buddhism and Gandhara: An Archaeology of Museum Collections; Susan Verma Mishra and Himanshu Prabha Ray, The Archaeology of Sacred Spaces: The Temple in Western India, 2nd century BCE-8th century CE; The Return of the Buddha: Ancient Symbols for a New Nation; and The Archaeology of Seafaring in Ancient South Asia.