Social activist & Arya Samaj leader Swami Agnivesh dies at 80

Sept. 11: Prominent social activist and Arya Samaj leader, Swami Agnivesh on Friday breathed his last at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences in  New Delhi. He was suffering from liver cirrhosis and was critically ill. “On Friday, his condition deteriorated and he went into cardiac arrest at 6:00 PM. Resuscitation was attempted but the stalwart passed away at 6:30 PM. ILBS joins the country in mourning the loss of this beloved leader,” the hospital said in a statement.

The mortal remains of Swami Agnivesh will be kept at his Jantar Mantar residence from 11 am to 2 pm for Antim Darshan. The last rites will take place in Gurugram at 4 pm on Saturday.

Swami Agnivesh served as the president of the World Council of Arya Samaj, which is the highest international body of the Arya Samaj movement originally established by Dayanand Saraswati in 1875, between 2004 and 2014. He was involved with several social movements including Anna Hazare’s India Against Corruption’s campaign in 2011 to implement the Jan Lokpal Bill. The Arya Samaj leader had extensively worked in various areas of social activism including campaigns against female foeticide and the emancipation of women.