M5-Hindu Revivalism in Nineteenth Century India

Reformist ideology in India was to a large extent a liberal response to the western challenge, especially Christianity. The reformers by engaging with the denunciation of Indian religion by Christian church men, tried to extol the Vedic foundations of Hinduism. The reformists were not averse to accepting western education and ideas, but the revivalists completely ruled out the need to respond to western influences. The Arya Samaj, established by Dayananda Saraswati felt it urgent for people to defend Indian culture from the kind of charges that the Christian missionaries were levelling. The Sanatanists adhered to established religious practices and argued that the polytheistic culture was indeed valuable, as the worship of the formless Brahman through many images was the best religion for ordinary folks.

India