New Delhi (FoC): President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the four-day-long 11th global

Arya Samaj convention here on Thursday (October 25) in the presence of representatives from 28

countries, including from Pakistan and Bangladesh, governors of Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim and two

Union Cabinet ministers, besides other participants hailing from various walks of life.

Delivering a short but impressive speech of about 20-minutes at the Golden Jubilee Park in Rohini,

Delhi, the venue of the event, President Kovind recalled his association with the movement of Arya Samaj in his youth in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, saying that that fortunate experience of four to five years inspired him and gave him several life lessons which were of value to him even today.

Describing the Arya Samaj as an institution of cultural pride and a movement of great significance

for all citizens of the country, he said there was even a greater need today in modern Indian society

to promote the teachings and philosophies of Arya Samaj Founder Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati.

President Kovind said that for citizens of India, it was important for one and all to take the

message and teachings of Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati of the mid-19th century forward,

especially his campaign to end cultural isolation, re-establish links with the time-tested Vedic way

of life, and end social evils like caste and class differentiation, and superstitions.

He also recalled that Maharashi Dayanand Saraswati had also during his life time championed the cause

of gender equality and empowerment of women, a topic and issue that was very much in the news these days. It was also Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati, who was one of the first people in 1875 to use

an item like salt to take the fight to our then British colonial masters, President Kovind said, adding that it was ironical that almost half-a-century later, Mahatma Gandhi had used the same tactic  to make the British withdraw their illegal Salt tax.

Highlighting the need for a values-based society, President Kovind said Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati

was such person, who in spite of all of his achievements, never hankered after power or pelf, and suggested that those occupying offices of authority and responsibility today in India, would do well to imbibe those very beliefs that he espoused for the betterment of the nation and its people, and for future generations to come.

Apart from host India, the other countries that will be represented at the event include United States, the United Kingdom, Russia,Canada, Nepal, Thailand, Myanmar, The Netherlands, Guyana, Trinidad, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Malawi, Mauritius, Armenia, France, Germany, Japan and Jamaica.