Dayanand Saraswati founded –

Explanation

Dayanand Saraswati (Mool Shankar) founded the Arya Samaj in Bombay in 1875, whose main objective was to re-establish the ancient Vedic religion in its pure form. The Arya Samaj movement spread mainly as a reaction to Western influences. In 1877, the headquarters of the Arya Samaj was established in Lahore, after which it was propagated more widely. Due to faith in the pure Vedic tradition, Swamiji gave the slogan, “Back to the Vedas.” Swami Dayanand’s objective was to unite India religiously, socially, and nationally. In the religious sphere, he did not accept idol worship, polytheism, avatarism, animal sacrifice, blind faith, tantra-mantra, and false rituals. He considered the Vedas as divine knowledge and accepted literature up to the Upanishadic period. The rules and principles of the Arya Samaj were first framed in Bombay; later, they were edited in Lahore in 1877 and given a definite form. The expansion of Arya Samaj was highly successful in Punjab, and to some extent it also achieved success in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Rajasthan. Mahatma Hansraj, Pandit Gurudutt, Lala Lajpat Rai, and Swami Shraddhanand were among its notable workers. In 1893, the Arya Samaj split into two groups—one group supported Western education, while the other opposed it. Among the opponents of Western education, Swami Shraddhanand (another name—Mahatma Munshiram) and Lekhram were prominent. These people founded ‘Gurukul Kangri’ (Gurukul Kangri University) in 1902. Among the supporters of…