Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati

The Prime Minister inaugurated the year-long celebrations commemorating the 200th birth anniversary of Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati, at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Delhi. He also released a logo for commemoration.

• Dayanand Saraswati was the founder of Hindu reform organisation called ‘Arya Samaj’.
• He was born on February 12, 1824 in Gujarat.
• His original name was Mool Shankar Tiwari.
• He wandered as an ascetic for fifteen years (1845-60) in search of truth.
• He was born to Karshanji Lalji Kapadi, and Yashodabai.
• He was a social leader, Indian philosopher, and reform movement of the Vedic dharma.
• He was the first to give the call for Swaraj “India for Indians” in 1876, which was later taken up by Lokmanya Tilak.
• He took inspiration from the Vedas and considered them to be ‘India’s Rock of Ages’, the infallible and the true original seed of Hinduism.
• He gave the slogan “Back to the Vedas”.
• Dayananda died after vigorous public criticism of a princely ruler, under circumstances suggesting that he might have been poisoned by one of the maharaja’s supporters, but the accusation was never proved in court.
  
  

Arya Samaj:

• Arya Samaj is a monotheistic Indian Hindu reform movement that promotes practices and values based on the belief in infallible authority of the Vedas.
• It was founded by Dayanand Saraswati on April 10, 1875.
• It was the first Hindu organisation to introduce proselytization in Hinduism.
• It has worked towards the growth of the civil rights movement across India since the 1800s.