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.
