Acharya Vijayanand Suri (Atmaramji)
Jain monk born near Ferozepur who revived the Svetambara order in the Punjab; his samadhi stands at Gujranwala.
Atmaram was born in 1837 in the village of Lehra, near Ferozepur, into a Hindu family, and as a boy became a Sthanakvasi Jain monk. He studied the scriptures for himself, came to believe that image worship was part of the old tradition, and in 1876 was initiated anew into the Svetambara order as Vijayanand Suri.
He travelled across the Punjab and Gujarat, rebuilt temples and libraries, and wrote widely. When he was invited to the World's Parliament of Religions at Chicago in 1893, he sent the young Virchand Gandhi in his place.
He died at Gujranwala in 1896, where his samadhi still stands, a reminder that Jains were part of the life of the old Punjab's towns, from Lahore to Multan.