On Saturday 19th March 2016 at Shree Hindu Community Centre, Birmingham, NHSF (UK) stakeholders witnessed the launch of the 25th Anniversary year. The launch was marked with a presentation showcasing both the advances and achievements of our organisation over the last quarter of a century.
Founded in 1991, six students came together to provide a platform for Hindu students to have a voice. The first NHSF (UK) President Manojji Ladwa was further supported by Nileshji Solanki, Jahnavji Ambedkar (nee Dadarkar), Rajenji Shah, Rohitji Ambedkar and Darshanaji Parekh; they united for a common cause which included recognising the potential Hindu students had to influence society.
Since then, NHSF (UK) has grown dynamically. We currently host over 4,000 active student members and a network of alumni and professionals who engage in a variety of activities from campaigning and leadership development to Bhakti (worship) and Sewa (selfless service). We have launched the Wellwisher scheme and worked on multiyear sponsorship deals, HUM magazine has become a free publication and a pool of established speakers are some of the people making regular Sewa and Bhakti events a success at every single Chapter.
With the 25th year in its inception, NHSF (UK) aims to go even further. Our vision for the 25th Anniversary is to create a mind-set of excellence and to inspire the next generation of leaders, whether that is at university, our future NHSF (UK) president or even the first ever Hindu Prime Minister of the UK.
The vision for the coming year was announced including the National Event for 2017: the 19th Hindu Half Marathon, key high profile events throughout the year focused around national issues that students face as well as the establishment of the National Committee Development Programme focused on improving key soft skills. We will also continue our commitment to drive learning with a focus on enquiring, engaging and empowering today’s youth and work on new Sewa initiatives such as “Yuva for Sewa.”
The launch of our 25th Anniversary proved to be a success as it brought together stakeholders of the Hindu Samaj and offered a platform to convey the long term vision of NHSF (UK) and how we aim to make a change in the landscape of the Hindu community in the UK.
We ask you all to join us in the upcoming celebrations for our milestone achievement!