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History
The
Boy Scout Movement
took a start in the United Kingdom when Lord Baden Powell (Robert
Stephenson Smyth Baden Powell) organised a Scout Camp at Brown sea
Island on 1907 and the 'Scouting for Boys' was published in 1908. The movement
spread quickly in United Kingdom and other countries of the world.
Scouting / Guiding in India before 1950:
The first Scout Troop in India, consisting of Indian Boys,
was formed by a Scottish Missionary, in the Central Provinces (present
Madhya Pradesh) in 1908. However, the troop was disbanded in 1910. The
common confirmed date, however, for the start of Scouting in India is 1909,
when three troops for British boys were started at Bangalore, Kirkee and
Jabalpur.
This list of three Scout Troops increased to nine different Boy Scout
Organisations in early 1911 in Shimla, Calcutta (present Kolkata), Jabalpur,
Allahabad, Bangalore, Poona, Kirkee, Saidpur and Madras (present Chennai).
Efforts
were made to merge all the Boy Scouts Organisations with the help and
assistance of Lord Baden Powell in 1921. These efforts were partly
successful. An endeavor was again made in 1937.
The
Girl Guide movement got a start in India at Jabalpur (M.P.) In 1911. It
expanded enormously. There were about 50 girl guide companies with a
membership of over 1200 by 1915. There companies were directly registered
with imperial scout headquarters, London, like other Scout organisation. But
an All India Girl Guides Association was formed in 1916. Girl Guiding was
restricted to British Girls till 1916.
It
may be worth mentioning that Lord Baden Powell wrote a book specially for
Indian Boys entitled "Scouting for boys in India".
Unification of Scouting and Guiding
There were scattered organisations during the
pre-independence era. However, serious efforts made by leaders like Pt.
Jawahar Lal Nehru, first Prime Minister of India, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad,
the then Education Minister, Govt. of India, Mr. Mangal Das Pakwasa, the
then Governor of C.P. and Scout Leaders like Dr. H. N. Kunzru, Pt. Sri Ram
Bajpai, Justice Vivian Bose. Final merger took place on 7th November 1950
under the name of the Bharat Scouts & Guides. The Girl Guides Association
joined the Bharat Scouts & Guides a year later in 15th August 1951.
The
Bharat Scouts & Guides was housed in small rooms in Regal Building,
Connaught Place, New Delhi. It shifted to its new building at 16, Mahatma
Gandhi Marg, New Delhi in the year 1963 - 64.
The Bharat Scouts & Guides has extended since 1950 enormously in
quantitative and qualitative terms.
The growth of census has been as follows:
|
(figures in lacs) |
1950 |
1971 |
1979 |
1990 |
1995 |
1998 |
2004 |
|
Scouts |
3.37 |
4.72 |
5.85 |
13.63 |
14.25 |
19.63 |
24.23 |
|
Guides |
0.56 |
1.48 |
2.25 |
6.81 |
7.00 |
9.65 |
12.65 |
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The names of the
National Commissioners of the Bharat Scouts
&
Guides since its inception are:
|
1 |
Dr. Hridya Nath Kunzru |
1952 to
1957 |
|
2 |
Justice Vivian Bose |
Nov. 57
to Nov. 59 |
|
3 |
Prof. Madan Mohan |
Nov. 59
to Nov. 60 |
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4 |
Dr. H.N. Kunzru |
Nov. 60
to 64 |
|
5 |
Mrs. Lakshmi Mazumdar |
Nov. 64
to April 83 |
|
6 |
Sardar Lakshman Singh |
April
83 to Nov. 92 |
|
7 |
Shri V.P. Deenadayalu Naidu |
Nov. 92
to Nov. 95 |
|
8 |
Shri L.M. Jain |
Nov. 95
till date |
PRESIDENTS OF THE ORGANISATION:
|
1. |
Shri Mangal Das Pakvasa |
1953 - 1960 |
|
2. |
Smt. Ammu Swaminathan |
Nov. 1960 - March 1965 |
|
3. |
Mr. Justice B. P. Sinha |
April 1965 - Feb. 1967 |
|
4. |
Sir Chandulal M. Trivedi |
Feb 1967 - Oct. 1973 |
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5. |
Shri Dharam Vira |
Nov. 1973 - Sept. 1976 |
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6. |
Shri Jagjivan Ram |
Sept 1976 - April 1983 |
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7. |
Shri S. B. Chavan |
April 1983 - Nov. 1998 |
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8. |
Shri Rameshwar Thakur |
Nov. 1998 - 2001 |
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9. |
Shri Sharad Pawar |
Nov. 2001 – 2004 |
|
10 |
Shri Rameshwar Thakur |
Nov. 2004 – till date |
This is a brief
description of the service
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