Arya Samaj pioneered ‘ghar wapsi’ with vedic movement: Yogi Adityanath

PTI, Oct 5, 2023, 10:28 AM IST

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said that the Arya Samaj was the first to respond to the religious conversions, which were taking place on a large-scale in the country organising ”ghar wapsi” of the converted.

Addressing the Golden Jubilee Mahotsav programme of Arya Samaj organised by Arya Samaj Basti at Hotel Balaji, Adityanath said, ”Arya Samaj started the Vedic movement in the country. Arya Samaj has been a vibrant movement in India and was dominant from Basti to Karachi once.” The CM, according to a statement, said that the Arya Samaj carried forward its Swadeshi programme and stood firmly against untouchability rife in the country in those times.

He said the Arya Samaj movement gave birth to many revolutionaries, one of whom was Pandit Ramprasad Bismil. ”Every revolutionary of that time felt proud to be associated with Arya Samaj.” ”Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of Arya Samaj, connected education with values on one hand, and modernity on the other.

”The DAV (Dayanand Anglo Vedic) Schools were once considered one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the country, where the day started with vedic prayers and havan yagya,”Adityanath said.