THE GENESIS OF SCOUTING AND GUIDING IN THE WORLD
The Boy Scout Movement had a simple start in the year 1907 when a Maj. General of Army Lord Baden Powell conducted an experimental camp in Brown Sea Island in England with 20 boys. The successful conduct of the camp and publication of the Book “Scouting for Boys” in a fortnightly marked the start of the Boy Scout Movement.
Lord Baden-Powell, a closet homosexual served in the army in the India: in 1876, Baden-Powell joined the 13th Hussars in India. In 1895, he held special service in Africa and returned to India in 1897 to command the 5th Dragoon Guards. Despite this, he wouldn’t allow any Indians in the Scouting movement.
In the year 1910, Crystal Palace Rally was held where Girls wearing the boy Scout uniform appeared and wanted to join the Scout Movement. Lord Baden Powell decided to start a movement for Girls with the help of his sister Agnes Baden Powell
SCOUTING IN INDIA
Scouting started in India in the year 1909, when Captain T.H.Baker established the first Scout Troop in Bangalore and got it registered with imperial Headquarters, London. Subsequently, Scout Troops were formed in Kirkee (Pune), Simla, Madras, Jabalpur, Lonavla (Mumbai) and registered with the Imperial Headquarters during 1910 and 1911. These units were open to European and Anglo Indian Children only.
The first Guide Company in India was started in Jabalpur, Central India in 1911. As the Scout Movement was not initially open to the Indian boys, Nationalist leaders of India decided to offer Scouting activities to Indian Boys and Sewa Samiti Scout Association was formed with Headquarters in Allahabad by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, Pandit Hriday Nath Kunzru and Pandit Sriram Bajpai. Dr.Annie Besant with the help of Shri G.S.Arundale started a separate Scout Association for Indian Boys in Madras. Efforts were made for unification of different scout groups existing in India during the visit of Lord Baden Powell to India in 1921 and 1937 but failed. Major reason for the failure in unification was the promise clause which included the word “Duty to King”. Our Patriotic sentiments of our Nationalist leaders did not approve the allegiance to the British Empire and instead it was insisted that allegiance loyalty to the Country should be part of the Scout Promise.
Baden-Powell was buried in Nyeri, Kenya in 1941. His friend Jim Corbet the famous Tiger hunter/preserver also happens to be buried there. My extended family were pioneers in that place, having built the first shops and I spent many happy days there with my father’s sister and her family.
SCOUTING GUIDING IN INDEPENDENT INDIA
After the independence of our country, efforts were made for unification of the Scout and Guide Associations functioning in India. Serious efforts were made by our National leaders like Jawahar Lal Nehru, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the First Education Minister of India, Shri Mangal Das Pakvasa, Governor of Central Province, and Scout leaders Hriday Nath Kunzru, Sri Ram Bajpai, Justice Vivian Bose and others for the merger of the Scout / Guide Associations.
Dr.Tara Chand, Education Secretary ,Government of India made significant contribution in finalizing the merger deed.
The Final merger took place on 7th November 1950 and the unified Organisation came into existence under the Name “The Bharat Scouts and Guides”. The Girl Guides Association formally joined the Bharat Scouts and Guides a little later on 15th August 1951.
CONSTITUTION AND HEADQUARTERS
The Bharat Scouts and Guides is a Registered Society under Societies Registrations Act. It is totally voluntary, non-political and secular organisation. The National Headquarters of the Bharat Scouts and Guides functioned from Regal Building, Connaught Place, New Delhi, till 1963.Thereafter, it shifted to its own building and is functioning from Lakshmi Mazumdar Bhawan , 16, Mahatma Gandhi Marg, Indra Prasth Estate, New Delhi -110002. The National Headquarters building was inaugurated in the year 1963 by the then Vice President of India Dr.Zakir Hussain.
Note: Lawrence School Lovedale had a Scout Wolf Cub movement set up by the most unlikely master, K Krishnan the Malayalam teacher. I was present when he selected the boys to join. His basis for selection? He picked at random a group of boys who he thought looked good. He had no idea of names or any qualities the boys possessed, he simply went by looks. I wasn’t selected (perhaps rightly so) but Krishnan, called Kaka (crow) in a derogatory manner by one and all for his terrible looks, only had a rudimentary knowledge of the movement and what sort of training one had to go through to earn a badge. I cannot recall a single classmate earing a single badge!