DAV MOVEMENT
Ideal we follow...
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MAHATMA HANSRAJ
(1864-1938)
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Who fulfilled his pledge of 25 years of honorary service as the first Principal of the first DAV College at Lahore.
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Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati was a Hindu spiritual leader and a social reformer of the 19th century. He was responsible for the revival of Indian educational system by bringing together pupils from different strata of society in one classroom. A great philosopher and a political thinker, he was most famous as the founder of the Arya Samaj.
Swami Dayanand was born on February 12, 1824 in Tankara in the western Indian state of Gujarat. At a time when Hinduism was divided between the various schools of philosophy and theology, Swami Dayanand went straight back to the Vedas as he considered them the most authoritative repository of knowledge and truth spoken in the "Words of God". After his demise in 1883, a group. of socially oriented people decided to raise a memorial which should be a befitting tribute to his great ideals. They formed the Dayanand Anglo Vedic (DAV) College Trust and Management Society which was registered in 1885.
This was the beginning of the great movement which is now popularly known as the D.A.V. movement. The society established its first institution D.A.V. School, at Lahore on June 1, 1886 with Lala Hans Raj (Later Mahatma Hansraj) as its honorary Headmaster. The main objective of the D.A.V. institutions is to impart such education to the children which helps to imbibe in them a sense of deep patriotism and pride in their ancient, culture and civilization, instils in them a disciplined outlook deeply dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. These institutions aim at creating environment truly conducive to the development of the child mentally, physically and spiritually.
The DAV College Trust and Management Society is already Hundred and Thirty-Five (135) years old and is now the biggest non-government educational organization in our country It covers broadly the, entire spectrum of educational activity in the country. The society is running more than 950 educational institutions which include Arts & Science Colleges, Colleges of Education, Commerce, and Law, Technical Institutions and Polytechnics, Ayurvedic Colleges, Dental Colleges, DAV Pharmacy, Ayurvedic Research Institutes and High Schools, apart from DAV Public Schools spread all over the country.
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LALA LAJPAT RAI
(1865-1928)
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Who founded and nurtured the great movement. |
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Swami Shradhanand
(1856-1926)
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Founder of Gurukul Shiksha Pranali |
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MAHARSHI DAYANAND SARASWATI
(1824-1883)
Maharshi Swami Dayanand Saraswati's life is a brave saga of dauntless courage, bold initiatives and creating a storm in the society and in the hearts of millions. This great man shook orthodoxy and conservatism to its roots. He changed the lifestyle of large masses of people by what he said and how he said it. It is truly said that men like Swami Dayanand are born after many centuries.
Swami Dayanand was great in life, greater in death and the greatest for the posterity. He was the hero in strife. He was the saviour of India and her civilization and culture.
He drew inspiration from the Vedas and gave a clarion call to the people, "Back to the Vedas" to know the truth of life and religion. Rabindra Nath Tagore called Swami Dayanand "the great path-maker of modern India”, who led a crusade against the then superstitions and perverse practices that misled the people of this ancient land.
This true son of Mother-India raised his stentorian voice in his book SATYARTH PRAKASH against foreign rule and set before us the ideals of Swaraj and Swadeshi. He advocated eradication of untouchability, emancipation of women, widow remarriage and the adoption of Hindi as the lingua franca of the country.
Sri Aurobinda Ghosh described Dayanand as a "Warrior in God's world, a very soldier of light, a sculptor of men and institutions, a man of PRACTICAL SPIRITUALITY”. While paying tribute to the great Maharshi, Sri K.M. Munshi remarked, "Dayanand Saraswati was the first great architect of modern India. In the neo-Hinduism of today, in Indian nationalism and in the methods of Mahatma Gandhi, we clearly trace the influence of Swamiji's unerring vision and statesmanship”
Maharshi Dayanand's immortal contribution to contemporary thought was his views on education which found prominent place among the Ten Commandments of the Arya Samaj which he founded in 1875. He had realised. that the national salvation lay in educating the masses for discarding mundane absurdities.
MAHATMA ANAND SWAMI
(1883-1977)
He was born on 15 October 1883 in Punjab's Jalalpur Jatta village. His parents Shri Ganesh Das and Smt. Jivan Devi were very religious people. Mahatma Anand Swami's original name was Khushhal Chand. He was a staunch follower of Arya Samaj. He assisted -Mahatma Hansraj in the works of Arya Pradesik Pratinidhi Sabha. He worked as the Editor of Arya Gazette. He actively participated in the activities and agitations of general interest which were organised by Arya Samaj from time to time. He played a pivotal role in Hyderabad Arya Satyagrah. In 1948 he adopted sanyas from Swami Atmanand and continued propagating the principles and values of Arya Samaj in India and abroad. He finally left for the heavenly abode on 24 October 1977 at Delhi.
MAHATMA N. D. GROVER
(15th Nov., 1923- 6th Feb., 2008)
Mahatma Narayan Das Grover was born on 15th November 1923 at Isakhel in Pakistan, having obtained master degree in Chemistry from Punjab University, he joined as a lecturer in D.A.V. College, Lahore in 1945. After the Partition of India, he resumed his service in DAV College, Ambala City and served there till 1960. He had the proud privilege to be the founder Principal of D.A.V. College, Abohar, Distt. Firozepur, Punjab. During his tenure, from 1960 to 1977, he established several educational institutions in its campus for which it is known as a 'Mini University. He served as the Principal of Dayanand Post Graduate College, Hissar (Haryana) from 1977 to 1982. He adopted the life membership of DAV Society, the rare one given to only dedicated soul of Arya Samaj, in 1 957. He also served as the Vice President of DAV CMC, New Delhi.
He was given a herculean task to establish the chain of DAV's in Eastern India in 1982. It was his sheer grit undaunted courage, untiring zeal non exhaustible energy and far-sighted vision that today more than 200 DAV educational institutions are running in collaboration with various public and private undertakings alongwith the schools directly managed by DAV College Managing Committee, New
Delhi.
Deeply influenced by Gandhiji in thought and philosophy, he led an exemplary austere and simple life with a sole motto to spread the light of education in every nook and corner of the region wherever he worked. To accomplish his dream, he moved from place to place and established schools and colleges in Punjab Haryana, Jharkhand, Bihar, UP, MP, Odisha and West Bengal. He was lovingly called 'Jholewala Baba' and reverently 'Karmyogi.'
He was not only an inventive educationist but also a social reformer, who strived throughout his life to uplift the standard of the poor and destitute. He stretched his helping hand to all those needy who came in his contact. This 'Jholewala Baba' showered his fatherly affection on the children who lost their parents in the super cyclone of Odisha by establishing an orphanage named Vedic Bal Ashram. He started Sankaip Sarv Shiksha Centres for the eradication of illiteracy amongst the poor and needy. He organized Free Eye Camps every year for Adivasies and founded Swami Dayanand Netralaya in Khunti, Jharkhand where Adivasies get free treatment and medicines.
This true Karmyogi foresaw the pivotal role which women can play in the 21St Century and worked for the empowerment of women by dispelling the darkness from their lives through the torch of education. He promoted ‘Women Education’ especially in Adivasi Rural Areas. He worked on self-dependence of women and initiated ‘Vocational Training’ for them to 'Learn and Earn’.
He was a great teacher who by his intuitive acumen and deep sense of duty left an ever-lasting imprint on the minds of intellectuals and instilled the lesson of moral character in his pupils. He was a committed worker of Arya Samaj, true follower of Maharshi Dayanand and above all, embodiment of selfless service, free from all narrowness, truthful in thought and fearless in action.
He left for his heavenly abode on 6th February 2008 at Chandigarh after a brief illness. It was the end of an epoch-a memorable epoch that has bequeathed an undying legacy to posterity to wonder whether such a man has moved in flesh and blood on this earth.