August 4, 2025

Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (UK) has achieved a significant milestone, celebrating the 50th anniversary of its flagship leadership development programme – Sangh Shiksha Varg (SSV), with a record-breaking attendance of 605 participants supported by 139 volunteers, representing its highest attendance to date and demonstrating the enduring appeal of traditional value-based education and leadership training.

Participants travelled from 65 towns across all four home nations of the UK, whilst 167 working professionals willingly sacrificed their annual leave to serve as instructors and support teams to ensure smooth running of the camps and invest in the next generation’s development.

A Programme Built on Service and Character.

The four-year structured SSV programme focuses on developing what Baiju Shah (overall coordinator for one of the locations) describes as “Self-inspired future leaders without ego and a commitment to making society better,”

Through a comprehensive approach combining physical, intellectual, and spiritual development, participants, ranging from teenagers to adults in their fifties, engage in a rigorous daily schedule from 6am to 10pm that includes yoga, team activities, structured lectures, meditation, and community service projects.

Remarkable Community Engagement

This year’s SSV showcased exceptional intergenerational participation, with one family notably having a grandfather, father, and son attending the same camp.

The focus on community outreach was equally impressive, with over 190 representatives from external organisations invited to tour the facilities and experience the SSV learning environment. Visitors included representatives from charities, community groups, religious organisations, Mayors, local councillors, and interfaith communities.

Pauline Jorgenson, councillor for Wokingham Borough Council, praised the organisation’s impact: “HSS do a huge amount for education and charity, and the atmosphere for all attendees, young and old, was amazing.”

Developing Tomorrow’s Leaders

The SSV curriculum is built around three fundamental principles: Sanskar (cultivating Dharmic values and character), Sewa (selfless service to community), and Sanghathan (unity and organisation). Participants engage in activities designed to develop practical leadership skills alongside traditional Hindu values.

For university student Eeshaan, a former graduate of SSV, the experience offered unexpected insights: “We’ve spoken about how SSV is an environment orchestrated for participants to immerse in Sangh. But this year, I learnt that it’s also an environment built to help teachers develop into better leaders.”

The programme culminates in a presentation day where family members witness demonstrations of the skills and knowledge participants have developed throughout their week-long intensive training.

Five Decades of Impact

Since 1975, SSV has produced graduates who continue to serve their communities whilst taking their developed skills into professional careers, government, and entrepreneurship. The programme’s emphasis on developing “responsible citizens” without ego continues to resonate with new generations.

It is with profound sadness that Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (UK) along with the Global Hindu Community mourns the passing of Dr Shankar Tatwawadi. Shankar Rao ji, as he was fondly known, passed away on 13th March 2025 at the age of 92 in Nagpur, India. 

Shankar Rao ji was an excellent student and completed his education in Nagpur, graduating with an MSc in Chemistry from Nagpur University. He pursued his doctoral studies at the prestigious Banaras Hindu University (BHU). He then undertook post-doctoral research at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Kansas in the United States in the mid-1960s.

Dr Tatwawadi then returned to BHU as a professor in the Department of Pharmacy, where he later became the Head of the Department. After many years as a professor he took early retirement and devoted himself to the work of supporting Hindus outside of India. He became a full time worker (Pracharak) of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) and helped to expand the activities and the development of the dedicated volunteers of HSS (UK). 

From 1989 to 2011, Shankar Rao ji travelled tirelessly across the breadth of the UK motivating the numerous volunteers of HSS, getting to know their families and guiding them in the expansion of HSS work. He provided crucial guidance on many key events, including the Virat Hindu Sammelan in Milton Keynes and the establishment of the Hindu Marathon (UK) as well as the numerous Sangh Shiksha Vargs (Youth Leadership Training Camps) over a span of 22 years.

From 1993 onwards he travelled to more than 60 countries, working with the Hindu Community globally to spread the message of Hindu Unity.

In 2011, Dr. Tatwawadi returned to India and joined Vijnana Bharati (A Scientific organisation) as a guide and mentor and engaged with prominent personalities in the scientific field.

Despite his advanced years and recent ill health he continued to keep in touch with Swayamsevaks/Sevikas around the world and warmly met them when they visited India. He breathed his last on the morning of March 13th at 10:30 am and as per his wishes his mortal remains were donated to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Nagpur.

Shankar Rao ji will be affectionately remembered for his calm nature, his warm interactions with young and old, deep wisdom and consistent guidance. He was a fatherly figure and an inspiration to countless Hindu Youth in the UK. His life journey and dedication to the development of the Hindu community will continue to inspire future generations of swayamsevaks and sevikas in the UK and around the world.

HSS (UK) offers our heartfelt shraddhanjali (homage) and pray for sadgati (onward journey towards godhead) to the departed atma of Shankar Rao ji.

April 7, 2022

Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (UK) participated in a tree planting event at Whalebone Park in the London borough of Barnet as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative.

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