Why in the news?

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi remarked that the Arya Samaj was a community of steadfast and devoted nationalists.

Arya Samaj

• What was it?: It emerged as a major socio-religious reform movement in 19th-century India, reacting to orthodoxy, superstition, and social evils.
• Establishment: Founded by Swami Dayanand Saraswati in 1875 at Bombay
• Objectives:
  • Reaffirm faith in the infallibility of the Vedas as the ultimate source of truth.
  • Promote monotheism and reject idol worship, ritualism, and caste discrimination.
  • Revive Vedic values of simplicity, morality, and truth.
  • Encourage education, especially women’s education, and social upliftment.
• Major Activities:
  • Established Dayanand Anglo-Vedic (DAV) Schools and Colleges to provide modern education blended with Vedic teachings.
  • Advocated Hindi in Devanagari script as the national language.
  • Spread Vedic literature and rational thinking across India.
  • Promoted shuddhi (purification) movement to reconvert those who had left Hinduism.
• Social and Political Impact:
  • Helped shape modern Hindu identity and Hindu reform movements.
  • Strengthened nationalist consciousness through social reform.
  • Influenced leaders like Lala Lajpat Rai, Bhagat Singh, and Swami Shraddhanand.
  • The Shuddhi movement led to Hindu-Muslim tensions in some areas but also contributed to Hindu consolidation during the colonial period.