Book excerpt: Secondary Education in Modern India (1800 – 2022) is a rare treatise of educational research, based on authentic primary date collected directly from archives. It spans two centuries and two decades of development of Secondary Education in India – from its faint faltering beginnings to the nationwide obsession with it today. It covers the gradual evolution of secondary education in India, presenting in detail the changing policies and programs, reports of different National Education Commissions, and the structural changes over a vast time frame. It is an invaluable reference book for students of education and those engaged in researching the development of education in India.