In most countries, conservatism involves "nostalgia" for fairly immediate past

E.g. In US, it is nostalgia for 1950s (before Sexual revolution)

But in India, Hindu life from 18th/19th cen is not that attractive. So H-Right appeals to a more remote past when things were "rosier"

Because if we go back to the practice of Hinduism on the ground in the 18th and 19th centuries, we don't get a pretty picture that appeals to everyone

E.g. Sati in Bengal, Thuggery in some parts, very stringent restrictions on widows, untouchability in Kerala

So those are things you cannot honestly wish you would like to "conserve"

So Indian conservatism cannot hark back to that

Hence we hark back to a remote period before the arrival of muslims and maybe even Hunas - 3rd-4th cen

When India was one of the fairest parts of the world

4th cen was indeed a period when Rome had declined. China was having its period of chaos and weakening after the end of the Han dynasty

So it was a period when India was likely the best place to be on earth

But the problem is it is too distant

Sure. It was a period of considerable ferment in Indian thought and religion. A period of much innovation

So there is much that is good there

But it's hard to relate it to the present republic. That's the challenge faced by H-conservatives

Some alternatives to 4th century exist

10th-11th cen Tamil Nad (Chozha rule)
15th-16th cen Southern India (VIjayanagar rule)

Periods of cultural excellence

But then it is hard for North Indians to relate to all this

Hence we still have 4th cen as our best candidate

My view is different

Harking back to v v remote past isn't too healthy, though it is not without merit

We should attempt to conserve the good things from a more immediate past

(Contd..)

And in that respect I allude to the period of late 19th/early 20th cen when traditional H-ideas mingled with the best of Western ideas.

This was a period of considerable rigour in H-practice on the ground. People still led v religious lives. But they also engaged with the West

And this synthesis created many great minds -

Srinivasa Ramanujan
CV Raman
Vivekananda
JC Bose
Tagore
Srinivasa Sastri
Sivaswami Aiyar
Bharatenduh
CP Aiyar
Rajaji
Jadunath Sarkar
Even Savarkar
and many more...

So this can be an alternative golden age for H-conservatives

A period of synthesis

When people rooted in the old world and its rigours engaged with the new world, without losing their roots

A model that created much excellence

But this period has its.challenge too.

As it coincides with the heyday of British Raj

So it remains a problematic era to glorify