Pracharaks from Tamil Nadu propagate HSS in Sri Lanka. Vistaraks dedicate less than two years of their lives to RSS and are usually students. IndiaвЂ™s Prime Minister Narendra Modi became a pracharak in the 1970s. Pracharaks dedicate their lives to RSS and donвЂ™t marry. вЂњCurrently 25 pracharaks and over 100 vistaraks work towards spreading shakhas overseas,вЂќ says Subramaniam. The sangh celebrates 50 years in UK next year. Haribhai Shah, a swayamsevak who moved from Mombasa to Birmingham, began UKвЂ™s first shakha,вЂќ says Mehta. вЂњMany swayamsevaks in African countries had the option of moving to the UK once those countries gained independence. RSS sent Mehta to Zimbabwe and Kenya to set up shakhas. RSSвЂ™s Kenya wing, earlier called Bharat Swayamsevak Sangh, spread its ideology to neighbouring Tanzania and Uganda, and later to parts of South Africa and Mauritius. The first shakha on foreign soil was in Mombasa,вЂќ says Ramesh Mehta, a senior RSS member whose home in suburban Mumbai has played host to overseas sangh leaders for 30 years. They held the first shakha together on the ship. One saw the other performing the right hand вЂnamaskarвЂ™ and figured he too was from RSS. вЂњIn 1946, two swayamsevaks, Manekbhai Rugani and Jagdish Chandra Sharda were travelling from Mumbai to Mombasa (Kenya). The first overseas shakha is believed to have been on a ship. вЂњThe sangh parivar got a boost in the UK under Blairite вЂmulticulturalismвЂ™ in which culture was identified with religion and religion with its most hardcore version,вЂќ says Sinha. Most overseas shakhas are held once a week. While shakhas in India take place in open maidans, in the US, most shakhas are held in university campuses on hired parking lots, says Modh. We have shakhas in cities like New York, Washington DC, Seattle and Miami,вЂќ says Satish Modh, who has been associated with RSS work abroad for over 25 years. READ ALSO: Mohan Bhagwat arrives in Gujarat for RSS workshop вЂњWhile Nepal has the largest number of shakhas outside India, US comes second with 146. вЂњThe diasporaвЂ™s longing for a connection with вЂIndian cultureвЂ™, вЂhistoryвЂ™ and вЂtraditionsвЂ™ in a context in which they are a minority that is not represented in the mainstream, provides a ready social basis for the RSS,вЂќ says Subir Sinha, academician at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. Finland has only an e-shakha where activities are conducted via video-camera over the internet for people from over 20 countries living in areas where HSS units are absent. The 39 countries where shakhas are held include five in the Middle East where outdoor shakhas are not permitted and are replaced by gatherings at peopleвЂ™s homes.

The hindu today&#39;s paper

The hindu today's paper