Swami Dayanand Saraswati was a renowned Hindu religious reformer and philosopher who founded the Arya Samaj in 1875 — a movement aimed at reforming Hindu society by returning to the original teachings of the Vedas. He strongly opposed idol worship, caste discrimination, superstition, and blind rituals, which he believed had corrupted the essence of Hinduism. His motto, “Back to the Vedas,” encouraged people to embrace reason, morality, and monotheism based on Vedic knowledge.