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(1) Swami Dayanand Saraswati was a founder of an organisation (not of a religion).
(2) Arya Samaj, a vigorously reforming sect of modern Hinduism, was founded in 1875 by Swami Dayanand Saraswati (quoting from Ii, Encyclopedia Britannica, 558).
(3) Comparison between Martin Luther and Swami Dayanand Saraswati quoting from Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Just as Martin Luther founded Protestantism as a sect of Christianity similarly Swami Dayanand founded Arya Samaj as a significant sect of Hinduism. Just as Protestantism is not a separate religion different from Christianity, Arya Samaj is not a separate religion different from Hinduism.

27. Firstly, in the pleadings of the Arya Samajis it has never been stated that Arya Samaj is a religion separate from Hinduism and that Arya Samajis are not Hindus. On the contrary, the petitioners have reproduced the passage from Ii, Encyclopedia Britannica 558, expressly stating that "Arya Samaj", a vigorously reforming sect of modern Hinduism, founded in 1875 by Swami Dayanand Saraswati and sought to revitalize Hindu life and to instil self-confidence and national pride among Hindus". At page 154 of the paper book the Arya Samaj petitioners in the rejoinder actually admit that Arya Samaj is a part of Hinduism. Secondly, in the Satyarth Prakash which is the main religious book of the Arya Samaj, Swami Dayanand himself stated that he had no intention of founding a new sect or a new religion (Light of Truth, page 723). Lala Lajpat Rai who was perhaps the greatest Arya Samaj leader after Swami Dayanand has in his "History of the Arya Samaj" repeatedly asserted that the Arya Samajis are Hindus. For instance, at page 125 he observed: "The Arya Samajists occupy an admittedly sound position in Hindu society. Hinduism in Northern India cannot be thought of without the Arya Samaj. It is not only a source of strength to Hinduism and Hindus but is the principal effective agency."