Swami Shraddhanand Biography 
Swami Shraddhanand was a Hindu saint, an Arya Samaj missionary and educationalist who propagated the teachings of Dayananda Saraswati. He also established many educational institutions like the Gurukul Kangri University. He was also actively involved with Hindu reform movements like Sangathan and Shuddhi for organization and re-conversion to Hindu religion. He lived during the period, 1856–1926. He practised as a lawyer during his initial days, before he took the new role of a saint and missionary. He was assassinated on 23 December 1926. His statue was placed in front of Delhi Town Hall after independence, replacing a statue of Queen Victoria. The place was then termed ‘ghantaghar’ because of the existence of an old clock tower until the 1950s.
He is also known as Mahatma Munshi Ram Vij. He was born on 6 February 1856 in Talwan Village, Jalandhar. The place now belongs to Punjab. He was the youngest child born to a police inspector. He was first named as Brihaspati Vij, and later changed to Munshi Ram Vij, a name which he changed after adopting Sanyas. Some of the incidents related to the crimes committed by priests and religious people changed him to an atheist. He first met Dayanand Saraswati when the monk visited Bareilly. By that time, he had completed mukhtari exams and preparing for his law studies.
His father was handling arrangements and security at the events, and Munshi Ram attended the meeting on his father’s request. Strongly influenced by Dayanand Saraswati’s skills and courage, he also slowly changed his mind. When Arya Samaj split in 1892, left the organization and formed the Punjab Arya Samaj. In 1902 he established a Gurukul in Kangri, now recognized as Gurukul Kangri University. In 1917, he took sanyas and took new name - "Swami Shradhanand Saraswati". Since then he became an active member of the Hindu reform movements and the Indian Independence movement.
Published: September 30, 2018
Updated: September 30, 2018
