NEW DELHI: Addressing the 148th Foundation Day celebration of the Arya Samaj in New Delhi on Tuesday, Union Minister of Home and Cooperation Amit Shah said that the life and actions Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of Arya Samaj, infused national awakening amongst Indians by establishing the Arya Samaj.
“It was a time when hardly anyone dared to speak about Swaraj, Swabhasha and Swadharm for India’s independence. But Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati not only spoke about them he travelled across India campaigning for the movement and thereby inspiring many,” he said adding “Today we are celebrating Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. But it was Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati who first proclaimed freedom from British rule,” he said.
Adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for a new India borrows extensively from the life and works of the Maharishi, the minister said, “The Government of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to celebrate the 200th birth anniversary of the great saint.” The Prime Minister himself attended the celebration on February 12 2022 and expressed his reverence to the saint Shah recalled.
He also said that Maharishi was the first person after the legendary Ved Vyas to revive the Vedas. “He ushered a cultural and intellectual renaissance into India and inspired many revolutionaries during the British Raj. Most importantly he led numerous social reform measures,” he added.
Lauding the Arya Samaj for its efforts to promote natural farming he said that the movement will not only help India save soil but will also protect the natural ecosystem by saving Gau Mata and the earth as a whole. “Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi is providing his support like a rock to this movement and initiating policy measures to free the soil from the effects of using chemical fertilisers,” Shah said.
Adding that India’s history of freedom struggle can never be complete without the extensive narration about Swami Dayanand Saraswati’s contribution Shah said, “I am proud that I was born in the land from which Maharishi Ji hailed. Maharishi Ji shook up the nation that was in the clutches of superstitious beliefs and freed the nation from many practices that were against the greater interest of society. He manifested the truth with his book Satyarth Prakash.” He also lauded the efforts of the Arya Samaj to spread knowledge of the Vedas in the Northeast.