Book excerpt: Traditionally, India has shared close diplomatic, cultural and political relations with the successive governments in Afghanistan. India had close alliance with the erstwhile USSR and thus had an excellent influence in Afghanistan and the adjacent regions. However, Afghanistan has remained the subject of direct influence of both interregional and extra-regional powers that led to its constant instability. Since the 9/11 attack, India has been trying hard for energizing its traditional influence in Afghanistan and to some extent has succeeded by entering into several bilateral agreements on diverse issues like defence, technology, trade, medicine, political and cultural exchange, etc. Geostrategically, Afghanistan is vital as it is considered the “gateway to the energy-rich Central Asia”. Hence, the escalating requirement for energy in India could find Central Asia as a better option as long as Afghanistan is politically stable. No doubt, India has gained considerable influence in Afghanistan by becoming one of the largest regional donors for the reconstruction process in the country. However, Pakistan's involvement in the country is a major obstacle to India due to the long-standing India-Pak rivalry. Furthermore, the former Afghan President Hamid Karzai's declaration of Pakistan as a twin brother and signing of an MoU on Afghan- Pak Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) in July 2010, could boost Pakistan's influence in Afghanistan. Moreover, the Taliban is active in many parts of the country and if it captures power in Afghanistan, the whole atmosphere will be in Pakistan's favor and hence India's interests will be at stake. In this context, the paper examines how India's interests can be protected in Afghanistan under the evolving geostrategic and geopolitical environment, and it also looks for various policy options available to India.