Ethics and morality have never been the stuff of politics. Chanakya and Machiavelli are often quoted as authorizing amoral realism in the conduct of affairs of state. Chanakya’s approval of pragmatism over principles referred only to the king’s pursuit of national interest, not his personal ones. Chanakya’s advocacy that a king use any means necessary — including bribery, betrayal, and violence — to defeat rivals, was done in the larger interests of the state and the kingdom. Political parties in India have, however, often deployed Chanakya in their pursuit of amoral politics.