150 Years of Arya Samaj | 01 Nov 2025

Source: PIB

Why in News?

The Prime Minister addressed the International Arya Mahasammelan 2025 in New Delhi, marking the 150th foundation year of the Arya Samaj and the 200th birth anniversary of Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati.

  • Part of the Jyāna Jyoti Festival, the event honours Dayanand’s reformist legacy, showcases “150 Golden Years of Service,” and promotes Vedic and Swadeshi values aligned with Viksit Bharat 2047.

What is Arya Samaj?

  • About: The Arya Samaj is a Hindu reform movement that upholds the Vedas as the supreme source of knowledge and truth. It was founded by Swami Dayanand Saraswati in 1875 in Bombay (now Mumbai).
  • Philosophical Principles: It upholds Vedic teachings while rejecting idol worship, elaborate rituals, animal sacrifices, social evils, and superstitions. 
    • It emphasizes the principles of karma (law of action), samsara (cycle of rebirth), and cow sanctity, while promoting Vedic fire rituals (havan/yajna) and samskaras (sacraments). 
  • Social Reforms: It advocated women’s education, inter-caste marriages, and widow remarriage, while establishing schools, orphanages, and homes for widows. 
    • It also contributed to famine relief, medical aid, and led the Shuddhi Movement to reconvert those who had embraced other faiths.
  • Other Arya Samaj Leaders: Arya Samaj was shaped by key figures like Swami Virajanand Dandeesha, who inspired Dayanand through Vedic scholarship; Shri Shraddhanand, founder of Gurukul Kangri University and a reformist martyr; and Pandit Lekh Ram, a staunch defender of Vedic teachings and opponent of religious orthodoxy.
  • Arya Samaj Split: In 1893, the Arya Samaj divided over two key issues — meat-eating versus vegetarianism and Anglicized versus Sanskrit-based education. 
    • Under Lala Hansraj’s leadership, the Gurukul system promoted traditional Vedic education blended with modern learning, while Lala Lajpat Rai and others supported modern, English-based education through Dayanand Anglo-Vedic (DAV) institutions.

Who was Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati?

  • About: Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati was a renowned religious reformer, philosopher, and social thinker of the 19th century who spearheaded a movement to revive the purity of Vedic teachings and eradicate social evils from Hindu society.
  • Formative Period: Born as Mool Shankar Tiwari on 12th February 1824 in Gujarat to devout Brahmin parents, he showed an early interest in spiritual inquiry, questioning idol worship, rituals, and superstitions. 
    • At the age of 19, he renounced worldly life to seek spiritual truth, living as an ascetic for nearly 15 years (1845–1860), and under Swami Virjanand’s guidance in Mathura, was inspired to reform Hinduism and revive its Vedic roots.
  • Reformist Vision: He opposed idol worship, untouchability, caste discrimination, polygamy, child marriage, and gender inequality, advocating a classless, merit-based society. 
    • He promoted women’s education, widow remarriage, upliftment of depressed classes, the Shuddhi movement, and the abolition of Sati and child marriage, emphasizing the motto “Back to the Vedas” for rationality, equality, and justice. 
    • His ideas, compiled in Satyarth Prakash (The Light of Truth), condemned social evils like infanticide and dowry while promoting Vedic wisdom.
  • Academic Contributions: He inspired the founding of gurukulas, Girl’s Gurukulas, and Dayanand Anglo-Vedic (DAV) institutions in 1886, with the first DAV school established in Lahore under Mahatma Hansraj.
    • He advocated modern, scientific, and Vedic education while opposing the British colonial system. 
  • Support for Nationalist Causes: He was the first to call for "Swaraj" in 1876, inspiring leaders like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, and Mahatma Gandhi. 
    • He also championed Swadeshi (economic self-reliance), cow protection, and Hindi as the national language.
  • Lasting Legacy: Swami Dayanand Saraswati faced orthodox opposition to his reform efforts, yet left a lasting legacy through the Arya Samaj and DAV institutions, which continue to benefit society.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Who was Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati?

Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati (1824–1883) was a Hindu reformer, philosopher, and founder of the Arya Samaj (1875). He advocated rationalism, equality, women’s education, and social reform, while inspiring India’s early nationalist and Swadeshi movements.

2. What was the core philosophical motto of the Arya Samaj?

The core motto was "Back to the Vedas," emphasizing a return to the original, rational, and egalitarian principles of the Vedic scriptures as the ultimate source of truth.

3. What is the significance of the Shuddhi Movement led by Arya Samaj?

The Shuddhi Movement was significant for its aim to religiously reconvert individuals who had embraced other faiths, thereby attempting to reform and consolidate Hindu society.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs) 

Q. Which among the following events happened earliest? (2018)

(a) Swami Dayanand established Arya Samaj. 

(b) Dinabandhu Mitra wrote Neel Darpan. 

(c) Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote Anandmath. 

(d) Satyendranath Tagore became the first Indian to succeed in the Indian Civil Services Examination. 

Ans: (b)