Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah attended the 148th Foundation Day celebrations of Arya Samaj as the chief guest, in New Delhi today.

In his address, Shri Amit Shah said that Maharishi Dayanand awakened the soul of the nation by establishing the Arya Samaj and ensured the restoration of Vedas to their original form, as was done by Ved Vyas. He said that Maharishi Dayanand helped accelerate the cultural and intellectual awakening of the country, inspired many revolutionaries and was the father of many social reforms in the country. The nation and the world will forever be indebted to Maharishi Dayanand for establishing the Arya Samaj and ensuring that his thoughts and works are actualized on the ground.

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that the nation is now celebrating the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav and it was Maharishi Dayanand who gave the first proclamation for independence. He said that Maharishi Dayanand connected with people through the ideas of Swaraj, Swabhasha and Swadharm. He said that the Union Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has decided to commemorate the 200th birth anniversary of Maharishi Dayanand. Shri Shah said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is working towards reawakening the spirit of the nation, and its basic concept has been taken from the life and works of Maharishi Dayanand. Shri Shah said that Maharishi Dayanand stirred the country surrounded by blind faith, freed it from many evils and enlightened the world with truth through Satyarth Prakash. He encouraged many people to fight fearlessly for Indian freedom against the British rule. In the form of Arya Samaj, Maharishi Dayanandhas established a tradition which will provide impetus for the progress of India and the welfare of the world for years to come.

Shri Amit Shah said that in addition to the commemoration of the 200th birth anniversary of Maharishi Dayanand, many other programs will be organized in the next two years. And as the 150 years of Arya Samaj will also be completed at the same time, the moment will indeed be a proud one for the Indians across the world. He said that natural farming is not only beneficial for the earth and soil, but the whole world will be benefited by the conservation and promotion of cow. He said that by fully supporting natural farming, the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has launched a campaign to free millions of farmers from urea and DAP, rejuvenate Mother Earth and ensure freedom from diseases. He said that Arya Samaj's campaign against drugs is well-timed and additionally, no other organization apart from Arya Samaj can manage to successfully conduct an inclusive program like “Galey Lagaiye, Doori Mitaiye” in tribal areas.

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that a child who sought truth grew up to became Maharishi Dayanand and left behind a great legacy for the world. He said that Maharishi Dayanand was the first person who worked fearlessly for Swadeshi and ensuring respect for mother tongue. He said that Maharishi Dayanand believed that the knowledge of Vedas is essential for India's progress, and that is why he gave the mantra of going back to Vedas, which still inspires people. Shri Shah said that Swami Shraddhanand, Mahatma Hansraj, Pandit GuruDutt and Lala Lajpat Rai gave the values of patriotism, love for mother-tongue and pride in our religion to the youth and patriots of the country during those times.

Shri Amit Shah said that the history of India's independence cannot be written without mentioning the contribution of Arya Samaj. He said that many revolutionaries were trained in the Gurukuls of Arya Samaj. He said that Arya Samaj strongly opposed the partition of Bengal and was at the forefront during Hyderabad Liberation War and Goa Liberation War. Shri Shah said that after the first war of Indian Independence in 1857, the whole country was dismayed and Maharishi Dayanand realized the importance of a contact language to unite the country and thereafter lived, wrote, and spoke for promotion of Hindi. He said that whenever we Indians say Namaste, we must always remember that this timeless and Indian greeting gesture is the gift of Maharishi Dayanand.

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that the followers of Hinduism and Arya Samaj can never be narrow-minded as we consider the whole universe as our own. He said that Arya Samaj has also supported education, construction of schools for children of deprived classes, construction of orphanage, worked towards women education and widow remarriage. It is impossible to even imagine that a person worked for so many causes and established an organization of such dedicated followers. He said that due to the efforts of the followers of Arya Samaj, the organization has spread in 34 countries across the world. He said that there is a need to accelerate the work of Arya Samaj, and while the direction should not change, the scope can be widened to tackle the challenges facing the country. Shri Shah said that Arya Samaj can work on various issues as per the requirement. He said that all the initiatives of the Union government under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi are also in foundation of Arya Samaj. The issues of pride in mother tongue, the vision of a prosperous nation, enhancing the national prestige globally, reviving Yoga and Ayurveda, restoring our culture are the essentials of Arya Samaj, too. Shri Shah said that the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is rewarding, speeding up and planning towards achieving a great deal of things and achievements.

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