Previous Year Question

The Shuddhi Movement was associated with the Arya Samaj.

The Arya Samaj was founded by Swami Dayanand Saraswati in 1875. The organisation emphasised a return to Vedic principles and carried out several programmes connected with religious and social reform.

One of the important programmes associated with the Arya Samaj was the Shuddhi Movement. Its purpose was to bring back into Hinduism those people who had earlier left Hinduism and adopted another religion.

In the religious context, Shuddhi meant purification or re-entry. It opened a way for individuals who had converted to Islam or Christianity to re-enter Hindu society.

Later, Swami Shraddhanand played an important role in carrying forward the Shuddhi Movement. During the 1920s, he became particularly active in activities associated with Shuddhi and Sangathan.

Thus, the Shuddhi Movement was directly connected with the religious and social reform programme of the Arya Samaj.