Which of the following statements about the Arya Samaj which emerged in the late 19th century are correct 1. Had a very strong support base amongst the trading castes 2. Introduced 'shuddhi' or mass purification 3. The moderates in the Arya Samaj were headed by Hand Raj and Lajpat Rai and set up a chain of Dayanand Anglo-Vedic colleges 4. The Arya Samaj had fewer members than the Brahmo Samaj Select the correct answer using the code given below:?

Option 2 : 1, 2 and 3

The correct answer is option 2, i.e 1, 2 and 3.

• Arya Samaj:
  • It was founded in 1875 at Bombay by Swami Dayanand Saraswati.
  • Swami Dayanand Saraswati gave the slogan ‘Go back to the Vedas‘ and ‘the Vedas are the source of all knowledge’.
  • It believes in one God who has no physical existence.
  • Arya Samaj emphasized education for girls but was against co-education.
  • Introduced the Shuddhi movement or mass purification and later in 1882 the Arya Samaj formed a ‘Cow Protection Association’.
  • Had a very strong support base amongst the trading castes.
  • Arya Samaj established a chain of schools called DAV educational institutions for the education of both boys and girls.
  • It criticized Sati, Idol worship, and the caste system however it didn't criticize division of society based on merit.
  • In 1893 Arya Samaj split into two sections in Punjab, the moderate section led by Lala Hans Raj and Lala Lajpat Rai and set up a chain of Dayanand Anglo-Vedic colleges.
  • The radical section was under the leadership of Pandit Lekh Ram and Lala Munshi Ram started Haridwar Gurukul in 1902.