Satyarth Prakash and its Impact on People

The first Satyarth Prakash became a bombshell as soon as it came out for public scrutiny. It was a book that focused on burning doctrinal, social and historical issues – like God, Soul, the World, religion, transmigration of souls, the history of India, contemporary social conditions [like caste system, women empowerment, political and social reform] and even on legal issues [like costly, wasteful litigations in court], economic issues like a trade [income tax] and the infamous salt tax. Taxation on salt has been prevalent in India since the earliest times. However, this tax was greatly increased when the British East India Company began to establish its rule over provinces in India. In 1835, special taxes were imposed by the British on Indian salt to keep Indians under economic and political control. This proved to be of extreme burden to people, especially the poor. The Satyarth Prakash gave voice to a people oppressed for a long time. Indians now started to believe in themselves, to assert their sense of pride, to respect Hinduism for what it genuinely stood for and to re-examine their leanings towards western civilization and Christianity. Historians admit that the foregoing facts are proof enough that, notwithstanding the discrepancies, the book was a blessing for India and certainly aided Dayananda in blazing his trail for a regeneration of the motherland.