Lala Munshi Ram, (b.d. 1926) - Arya Samaj, a contemporary
Hindu reformist organization, owes its existence to him.
Shraddanand was born in Punjab and graduated from Government
College in Lahore with a law degree.
However, it was his support for the Arya Samaj's educational
institutions that made him most influential.
In 1901, he founded the Gurukul Kangri in Haridwar, which he
considered his greatest achievement.
The Gurukul ("teacher's family") was a boarding
school where children from the Arya Samaj could be nurtured with
"progressive" Arya principles, away from the corrupting influences of
traditional mainstream Hindu culture.
This paradigm was based on the Vedas, the oldest Hindu
religious books, which the Arya Samaj regarded as the only source of religious
authority, and in which a pupil would live with his teacher's family.
The curriculum emphasized traditional Sanskrit studies, notably
of the Vedas, as well as the arts and sciences required for a
"modern" education.
Shraddhanand became a Sanyasi in 1917, although he continued
to support political issues, notably Mohandas Gandhi's 1919 demand for
non-cooperation with the British administration.
His zeal and tenacity made him a controversial figure, and
he was assassinated in 1926 by a Muslim.
