Mahatma Hansraj Biography 
Mahatma Hansraj is an Indian educationist and follower of Arya Samaj. He was born on 19th April 1964 in the village of Bajwara in Hoshiarpur district, Punjab. He was an ardent follower of Swami Dayanand. Swami Dayanand was the founder of Dayanand Anglo-Vedic School system. In 1886 Mahatma Hansraj started the first DAV school at Lahore together with Guru Dutt Vidhyarthi, three years after the death of Swami Dayanand.
His parents are Chunnilal and Hardevi. His father died when he was just 12 and he had to face tough economic conditions in his younger days. He went to a missionary school and completed his Bachelor of Arts degree with excellent marks. He became the founder principal of the DAV school, Lahore.
He was a compatriot of freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai. He became the president of the provincial Arya Pradeshik Pratinidhi Sabha in Punjab. This is the DAV section of Arya Samaj. When the Arya Samaj split into two in 1893, one section was led by Mahatma Hansraj and Lala Lajpat Rai and the other section was led by Pandit Lekh Ram and Lala Munshi Ram. Mahatma Hansraj retained the control over the DAV College and served as the principal for 25 years.
Mahatma Hansraj was a great nationalist who was also an untiring relief worker who worked during the earthquakes at Kangra in 1905, Quetta in 1934, Bihar in 1935 and famines of Rajasthan in 1905, Awadh in 1907 and Garhwal in 1918. He supported widow remarriage and advocated the abolition of Sati and early marriages. He was against caste distinctions.
DAV runs over 669 colleges, schools and technical institutions today. Many educational institutions are named after him including Hans Raj College, Delhi. He died on 14th November 1938. He worked for uplifting the poor and downtrodden people of the society and after his retirement he committed his entire life for social service.
Published: N/A
Updated: September 27, 2017
