Correct Answer - Option 3 : Swami Dayanand Saraswati
The Arya Samaj was founded by Dayanand Saraswati in 1875.
- It was a religious revivalist movement.
- While rejecting Hindu religious orthodoxy, idol worship, and caste society, the slogan of this movement was to go back to the Vedic period.
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The following are key points related to it:
- Painting a glorious position of women in ancient India, it advocated reform in the caste system, compulsory education for both men and women, the prohibition of child marriage by law, remarriage of child widows. It was opposed to divorce and widow remarriage in general and emphasized separate schools for girls and boys.
- Several Arya Kanya Pathashalas were set up which later became colleges and contributed to the cause of women’s education. Though mainly an urban movement, its influence also extended to semi-urban and rural areas.
- While rejecting the caste system it never demanded its abolition. Preference for arranged marriages within the caste group and emphasis on the home-making roles of women limited its contribution to the cause of women’s emancipation.
- Social reformers (like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, M.G. Ranade, and Swami Dayanand Saraswati) eulogized the position of women in ancient India. However, the radicals like Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Jyotirao Phule, and Lokhitvadi Gopal Hari Deshmukh attacked the caste system, which they said was responsible for the subjugation of women.
- Phule said that Sudras and women had been denied education so that they would not understand the importance of human rights of equality and freedom and would accept the low position accorded to them in law, customs and traditions.
Hence, we conclude that Arya Samaj was founded by Swami Dayanand Saraswati.
