The Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (Devanagari:हिन्दू स्वयंसेवक संघ; Organisation of Hindu Volunteers) is an organization that engages in community activities, social services and religious work amongst the adherents of any religion across the world.
The aim of the HSS is to bring the scattered and divided Hindu communities together, in veneration of Indian culture, and Hindu religious values and principles. They also aim to advocate against "defamation and mistreatment of the Hindu people,". The group is influenced by RSS ideologues, but the HSS has no overt political goal, and thus does not share the RSS's Hindu political ideology.
The HSS is the largest in North America and the United Kingdom, and is also spread out in the Europe, Caribbean, East and Southern Africa and South East Asia. There are approximately 75 shakhas (or branches) across the UK and 100 in the United States. Unlike shakhas in India, where they are held daily, shakhas in the UK and the US are held weekly.
Although it has been alleged that the HSS has some ideological similarities to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the HSS and the RSS have an independent legal, administrative and financial structure, as the RSS restricts its activities to India. Leaders from many organizations including the RSS are often invited by the HSS for promotional and speaking tours, and the HSS borrows from the RSS methodology, including Shakha (Branch) concept.
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