Swami Achhootanand, also known as Achutanand or Hariharanand, was a 20th century Indian anti-caste intellectual, Dalit writer, and social reformer.
For a Dalit at the time, he received relatively good education: the Christian missionaries at the cantonment school taught him to read Urdu, English, Hindi, and Gurumukhi.
[3] As a teenager, Achootanand became a follower of the religious leader Swami Sacchidananda, who taught him Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, and Sanskrit languages.
According to his biographer, Chandrika Prasad Jigyasu, he read a variety of religious literature, including the Guru Granth Sahib; the Bijak of Kabir; the works of various other Bhakti poets (including Dadu Dayal, Ravidas and Namdev); Romesh Chunder Dutt's Bengali translation of the Rig Veda; and several history books.
He adopted the name "Harihar", and worked on the Shuddi (re-conversion to Hinduism) ritual campaigns, that sought to prevent the lower castes from converting to Islam or Christianity.
In the 1920s, he labeled the Congress a Brahmanical organization, opposed the non-cooperation movement, and supported the visit of Prince of Wales Edward to India.
He then laid the foundation of "Jati Sudhar Achhoot Sabha'" and was conferred the title of "Shri 108" by proposal of Arya preacher, Pandit Ramchandra & Naubat Singh, the minister of Shahdara Samaj in Delhi.
[13] The Adi Hindu ideology considered Bhakti as the original religious tradition of India, encouraging direct interaction between the devotee and the god, and discouraging the use of Brahmin priests and Vedic rituals as intermediaries.
[2] The Adi Hindu movement became popular in the United Provinces, and attracted untouchables from a variety of backgrounds including the first-generation educated, village headmen, and rich businessmen.
[13] By 1930, Achootanand's Adi Hindu conferences attracted participation from members of several lower castes, including Chamars, Dhobis, Pasis, Bhangis (Valmikis), Kureels, Dhusias and Koris.
[17] Achootanand welcomed King Edward VII, the Prince of Wales and even demanded proposals for Depressed Classes which was going to be submitted before Simon Commission.
[17] During Round Table Conference held in London in 1931, he supported Ambedkar through telegrams and created awareness on the issue among the untouchables of Kanpur.