Many among Punjab’s Hindus felt that the Gujarat-born Swami Dayanand Saraswati (1824-1883), who visited Punjab in 1877, was the answer to their search. His reputation had preceded the Swami’s visit. Opposing idolatry and all rituals except the havan ceremony, the celibate Dayanand was a gifted scholar and energetic debater. Published in Hindi in 1875, his Satyarth Prakash (Light on the Meaning of Truth) had urged Hindus to return to ‘the pure monotheism’ of the Vedas. The book had also criticized Christianity, Islam, idolatrous or corrupted Hinduism, and Sikhism.
