October 18, 2025

Dayanand Saraswati

  • To mark the 200th birth anniversary of Arya Samaj founder Dayanand Saraswati this year, the government has formed a high-level committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
  • Members include Union ministers, state governors, senior officials from various departments and office-bearers of the Arya Samaj organisation.

ABOUT MAHARISHI DAYANAND SARASWATI (1824-83)

  • He was born on 12th February 1824 in Tankara, Gujarat in a Brahmin family.
  • He was an Indian philosopher and social leader.
  • He took inspiration from the Vedas and considered them to be ‘India’s Rock of Ages’ and gave the slogan “Back to the Vedas”.
  • His magnum opus, Satyarth Prakash (1875), emphasised the “return to Vedic principles” that Dayanand Saraswati believed “had been lost” over time.
    • The book uses the language of religious revivalism – hearkening back to a ‘better’ ancient past – in order to fashion a modern religious philosophy and organisation, capable of competing against the increasingly proselytising Christian missionaries.
  • A believer in the supreme authority of the vedas, he established the Arya Samaj in 1875, leading a reform movement within orthodox Hinduism.
  • His beliefs included a rejection of idolatry and the overly ritualistic traditions of Hinduism, support for women’s education, denunciation of child marriage and an opposition to untouchability.
  • He was the first to call for Swaraj by raising slogan ‘India for Indians’ in 1876.
  • The DAV (Dayanand Anglo Vedic) schools came into existence in 1886 to realize the vision of Swami Dayanand Saraswati.

ABOUT ARYA SAMAJ

  • Its 1st unit was set up at Mumbai and but headquarters were located in Lahore.
  • This was a monotheistic Hindu order that rejected the ritualistic excesses and social dogmas of orthodox Hinduism and promoted a united Hindu society on the basis of Vedic teachings.
  • It worked towards abolishing caste system, women’s subjugation, and promoted widow remarriage
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