On the demise of Maharshi Swami Dayanand Saraswati in 1883, a group of socially oriented people met to mourn his death. They decided to raise a memorial which should be a befitting tribute to his great ideals.
They formed the Dayanand Anglo Vedic (D.A.V.) College Trust and Management Society which was got registered in 1885. This was the beginning of the great movement which is now popularly known as the D.A.V. The society established its first institution- D.A.V. School, at Lahore on June 1, 1886, with Lala Hans Raj (Later Mahatma Hans Raj) as its honorary Headmaster. The main objective of the D.A.V. institutions is to impart such education to the children as, while it helps to imbibe in them a sense of deep patriotism and pride in their ancient culture and civilization, instills in them a disciplined outlook deeply dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. These institutions aim at creating environment truly conducive to the development of the child mentally, physically and spiritually.
The D.A.V. College Trust and Management Society is already more than a hundred years old. This is now the biggest non-government educational organization in India. It covers broadly the entire spectrum of educational activity in the country. The society is running more than 600 educational institutions which include Science & Arts Colleges, Colleges of Education, Commerce and Law, Technical Institutions and Polytechnics, Ayurvedic College, Dental College, D.A.V. Pharmacy, Vedic Research institutes; and High Schools apart from D.A.V. Public School scattered all over the country and even in foreign lands.