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Arya Samaj

The Arya Samaj was founded in 1875 by Swami Dayanand Saraswati to reform Hindu practices and promote social equality. It advocated for principles based on the Vedas like equality of sexes and brotherhood of all. Dayanand promoted women's education and opposed practices like child marriage. He advocated for monogamy and widow remarriage. The Arya Samaj established schools promoting Hindi, Sanskrit, and a foreign language. It also started the "Shuddi movement" to reconvert people from other faiths back to Hinduism. The organization played a role in India's independence movement by supporting Hindi, swadeshi, and opposing salt taxes.

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283 views2 pages

Arya Samaj

The Arya Samaj was founded in 1875 by Swami Dayanand Saraswati to reform Hindu practices and promote social equality. It advocated for principles based on the Vedas like equality of sexes and brotherhood of all. Dayanand promoted women's education and opposed practices like child marriage. He advocated for monogamy and widow remarriage. The Arya Samaj established schools promoting Hindi, Sanskrit, and a foreign language. It also started the "Shuddi movement" to reconvert people from other faiths back to Hinduism. The organization played a role in India's independence movement by supporting Hindi, swadeshi, and opposing salt taxes.

Uploaded by

Shreya Singh
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Arya Samaj

1. Set up by Swami Dayanand Saraswati in Bombay 1875


2. He was not interested in creating a body of followers to propagate his ideas, he opined
that reform had to come from people themselves. It is the task of people to work for
their personal improvement and for upliftment of society
Contribution
These ideals sought to reform the religious malpractices of Hindusim. The authority of Vedas
conditioned by rationalism and utilitarianism constituted social programme of Arya Samaj.
 
The 10 principles of Arya Samaj sought to reform the society were based in Vedic texts.
 
The social ideal of Arya Samaj reflected the ideals of Vedas, these were:
1. Fatherhood to God and Brotherhood to Man
2. Equality of Sexes
3. Justice and Fairplay between people and between nations
4. Equality of opportunity to all according to their merit
5. Love and Charity towards all.
 
 
 
Women
1. Women like Harijans were Slaves of Slaves. In british period men were slaves of British
and were enslaved by men. Women had few rights and were not considered equal to
men.
2. He advocated equality of sexes, encouraged women to study vedas by putting forward
the argument that women rishis account for 200 mantras in Rig Veda
3. Carried crusade against child Marriage, confronting Shastric injunction that if a girl had
her menses in her father's house, the father and brother would go to hell. He argued
why should anyone go to hell because of a natural function.
 
Marriage
1. His stand was that men and women should marry only once.
2. For young widows his prescription was Niyoga, rather than widow remarrige which
meant temporary union with dead husband's nrother to get a maximum 2 children.
But his concept of Niyog was not accepted by Aryas and he in democratic spirit did not
press his point. Arya Samaj in PJ arranged for widow remarriages and Dayanand
acquiesced.
 
Education
1. In hiss book Satyarth Prakash he stress on parental duty to educate children and make
them of high moral character.
2. He proposed 3 language formula, which involved studying Sankskrit, Hindi and Foreign
Language from age of 5
3. Arya Samaj organised a network of schools for boys and girls where education was
imparted in mother tongue, called Dayanand Anglo Vedic colleges
Religion
1. Unconventional step by Dayanand was to offer to "reclaim" Hindus who had changed
their religion to Islam, Christianity etc.
2. This was done en masse as "Shuddi Movement" or ceremony of Purification
 
Nationalism
1. Gave slogan India for Indians. Gave leaders like Lala Hans Raj, Pandit Guru Dutt and
Lala Lajpat Rai.
2. Played a role in transition of loyalist character of INC to a mass political movement
3. Dayanand declared foreign government was no substitute for self rule. Arya samaj was
considered seditious by British.
4. Dayanand and Arya Samaj contributed in National Movement in following ways
a. Support of Hindi Language
b. Swadeshi and Khadi supported
c. Opposition to salt taxes
2. Some critics have dubbed Swami Dayanand as a reactionary, as he gave the call "Back
to Vedas". Yet Dayanand ushered in modern action in India just as Gandhiki did half a
century later.

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