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Swami Dayananda Saraswati founded Arya samaj in 1875. The revivalism of Arya Samaj had great appeal for the middle class in north India particularly in Punjab. The middle classes in Punjab comprising merchants, professional, service persons etc. came under the influence of Arya Samaj. During the phase of emergence of caste consciousness in Punjab, the Arya Samaj played very important role and was able to organize the people in Punjab. The Arya Samaj had accepted the caste system in principle. The question of caste posed the greatest challenge to the Arya Samaj. Economic power was vested among the Vashya community. The emergence of the British did not change the economic power vested with the Vaishya community. The emergence of caste consciousness in Maharashtra was different from that in Punjab. Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, founder of Satyashodhak Samaj, was a social reformer in Maharashtra who emerged from the lower castes. A strong advocate of female education he founded a girls school in Poona. He actively supported the widow remarriage movement and opposed polygamy and child marriages. The backbone of its support came from the Maratha peasantry. It also got support from untouchables. The commercial bourgeoisie were another source of support.