India, Leader
February 12,
1824 – October, 30, 1883.
Dayanand Saraswati (12 February 1824 – 30 October 1883) was an Indian religious leader and founder of the Arya Samaj, a Hindu reform movement of the Vedic dharma. He was also a renowned scholar of the Vedic lore and Sanskrit language. He was the first to give the call for Swaraj as "India for Indians" in 1876, a call later taken up by Lokmanya Tilak. Denouncing the idolatry and ritualistic worship prevalent in Hinduism at the time, he worked towards reviving Vedic ideologies. Subsequently, the philosopher and President of India, S. Radhakrishnan called him one of the "makers of Modern India", as did Sri Aurobindo.
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