This is not history with the rigour one would expect of the subject, with meticulously researched footnotes and a good 30% of the final pages dedicated to the notes. It is an anecdotal and opinionated capture of the long tradition of Indian Conservative thought, starting from our foundational texts all the way till the modern day.

Conservative thought in India is often caricatured with rampant Islamophobia and Hindu fascism, and while they may reflect some of the more extreme realities, to draw the line there would be the equivalent of tagging all liberals as commune loving Maoists.

It is not a history, it is a historical index. An index along with brief descriptions of the myriad personalities that have built and advanced the conservative tradition in India, who belong not just to the academic intelligentsia, but religious thinkers, businessmen, artists, political workers, women's rights activists, and so many more.

It can be somewhat polemical to the statist polity, but again, opinionated. ( )