February 22 is the birth anniversary of Swami Shraddhanand, a pioneer of Indian culture and nationalism. Swami Shraddhanand was a leading member of the famous reform movement Arya Samaj and tried his best to propagate the ideals and teachings of Swami Dayanand Saraswati, who founded the movement in 1875. A nationalist leader from Punjab, he strove hard to reform Hinduism of purging it all later degenerate features that had crept into it.
Born as Munshi Ram Vij on February 22, 1856 at Talwan village in Jalandhar district in Punjab province, Shraddhanand has left an indelible mark on India’s culture which will continue to inspire future generations.
Shraddhanand was a courageous social reformer who opposed illiteracy, the prevailing caste system, untouchability, and advocated widow remarriage, national unity and integrity. On 4th April, 1919, he delivered a speech on the Hindu Muslim unity from the pulpit of Jama Masjid in Delhi.
To B R Ambedkar, Shraddhanand was ‘the greatest and most sincere champion of the Untouchables”.
In 1923, Swami Shraddhanand founded the Bharatiya Hindu Shuddhi Mahasabha (Indian Hindu Purification Council) with a view to converting the Muslims in the western United Provinces, particularly the Malkana Rajputs.
He started a weekly, Satya Dharma Prachak, from Jalandhar and in 1902 founded the Gurukula at Kangri near Haridwar (now in Uttrakhand and an important place of Hindu pilgrimage). This institution spreads the message of the Arya Samajist Dayanand Sarswati to the whole world.
A successful lawyer and great educationist, Shraddhanand plunged headlong into the freedom movement. During the anti-Rowlatt Act agitation, he joined the National Movement and was the Chairman of the Reception Committee of the Amritsar session of the Congress in 1919.
Shraddhanand was the author of the book “Hindu Sangathan”. He also formed ‘Dalit Uddhar Sabha’ to work for Dalit liberation.
Shraddhanand was a liberal social reformer who advocated widow remarriage and female education and opposed child marriage and caste discrimination. He was the president of the Suddhi (re-conversion) Sabha of the Arya Samaj. His conversion programme was not liked by the Muslims. A Muslim fanatic named Abdul Rashid murdered ailing Shraddhanand on 23rd December, 1926.
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