Arya Samaj — Prelims Strategy

Prelims Strategy

Construct a founder–place–year–text table. Put Dayanand Saraswati, Bombay, 1875 and Satyarth Prakash together, then compare the corresponding entries for other reform movements from their own sources. A later centre such as Lahore is a plausible distractor because it was important, but it answers a different question from original foundation.

Separate source of authority from institutional method. Vedic authority explains Dayanand's criterion for reform; the DAV and Gurukul streams describe educational approaches. An option can correctly mention education while assigning the wrong emphasis to a particular stream.

Treat shuddhi as a specific concept relating to return or reconversion. Do not let the broad meaning of purification make it a label for any reform activity. Similarly, criticism of image worship should not be read as rejection of the Vedas.

When a question makes a claim about social outcomes, ask whether the source describes an advocated ideal or an achieved condition. A movement’s programme is evidence of what it sought, not automatic proof of universal implementation.