Question

The slogan of ‘Go back to the Vedas’ was raised by
a. Ram Mohan Roy
b. Dayanand Saraswati
c. Ram Krishna Paramhans
d. Vivekanand

Answer 1

Hint: The slogan of ‘Go back to Vedas’ was raised so as to make people aware about the evils that had crept into the society. This was to challenge the orthodoxy that had made the society believe about certain unethical practices.

Complete Step by Step Answer: The main reason for going back to the Vedas was that they were storehouses of information and religious truth. They are words of God and have the supreme and an independent authority.
The slogan was raised by an Indian philosopher and social leader named Swami Dayananda Saraswati. He taught many virtues which would change people’s mindset of being orthodox.
Swami Dayanand Saraswati was born on February 12th, 1824 in a town named Tankara in Gujarat, India. He had founded Arya Samaj on April 7th in the year 1875 in Bombay. He also laid down the ten principles of Arya Samaj.
Let us study the options now.
Option a- Ram Mohan Roy is the founder of Brahmo Sabha which is the precursor of Brahmo Samaj. It was a social and religious reform movement in the Indian subcontinent. Though he was determined to reform the practices, he didn’t call out the slogan of ‘Go back to the Vedas’. So, this is an incorrect answer.
Option b- Dayanand Saraswati was a reformer who wanted to induce the beliefs written in the Vedas. He wanted to abolish the practices of untouchability, idol worship and instill in the people the belief that there is only one God. He raised the slogan of ‘Go back to the Vedas’ so that the society thinks about the roots of the religion. Thus, this is the correct answer.
Option c- Ram Krishna Paramhans was an Indian Hindu saint, mystic and religious leader. He was influenced by various religious traditions like devotion towards Goddess Kali, Tantra, Advaita Vedanta, etc. He was the leader of Swami Vivekananda. This is the wrong option.
Option d- Vivekananda was a Hindu monk and a key person for introducing the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the West. He also revived Hinduism as a major religion in the late 19th century. He also was a contributor of Indian nationalism to be used as a tool for fighting against the British rule. It is an incorrect option.
Hence, option ‘b’ is correct.

Note: For the first time in India, under Swami Dayanand’s patronage, the Vedas were printed in India. His followers also started a school called Dayanand Anglo-Vedic school popularly known as DAV.