Education
Agnivesh received his degrees in Law and Economics in the University of Calcutta.
Agnivesh received his degrees in Law and Economics in the University of Calcutta.
In 1970, Agnivesh founded Arya Sabha, a political party based on Arya Samaj principles as he himself formulated in his 1974 book “Vaidik Samajvad”.
Agnivesh became a member of the Legislative Assembly of Haryana in 1977, and served as a cabinet Minister for Education in 1979. In 1981, while still a minister, he founded the Bonded Labour Liberation Front, which continues to raise issues bonded labour in India, especially in the quarries in and around Delhi.
Agnivesh testified before the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery at the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva. Later he created a new task for emancipation of womanhood, which was a helpful factor in the Commission of Sati (prevention) Act of 1987.
In 2005, Agnivesh was part of a two week campaign against female foeticide that traveled across India.
In 2008, he addressed a large gathering at the Anti-Terrorism Global Peace Conference, at Ramlila Grounds, organized by Jamiat Ulema-e-Hindand several Islamic organizations, where he stated: "It is wrong to attribute the wrongdoings of a few individuals to the whole community”. He also supported demand by Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind on ban of singing Vande Mataram by muslim citizens of India.
Agnivesh took part in the anti-corruption protests in India in August 2011. Later, he broke away from the main group claiming that other protesters humiliated and conspired against him.
Swami also argued at a conference on economic development and religion sponsored by the World Bank that people should be allowed full freedom of movement across borders through the elimination of all passports and immigration laws.
He dreams of a world where religions interact in an integrative model as against the present conflictual and competitive model.
He considers: "Everything boils down to politics and I think it is hypocritical to hold that politics should be left alone just because it is dirty. One can still have the proper perspective even if the reality on the ground is otherwise. We need a new type of politics, no doubt, but that can only come by hard work and greater involvement with the downtrodden. For myself, I hope there will one day be a new party consisting of activists from all over the county".