No. 011-23370724, 23378667 Fax. +91-11-23370126
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First edition : 1968
Second edition : 1997
Third edition : 2004
Fourth edition : 2006
Fifth edition : 2009
Sixth edition : 2018
Published by : Director, The Bharat Scouts and Guides, National Headquarters, Lakshmi Mazumdar Bhawan, 16, M.G. Marg, I.P. Estate, New Delhi-110002
Price : Rs. 60/-
Printed by : deeya media art D-41/A, Laxmi Nagar, Delhi-110092 Ph. : 09312550335, 09211656230 E-mail : infodma07@gmail.com
To know the past is part of human nature. If a book on the history of a social movement is written with commitment by a person deeply involved, it becomes informative, authentic, interesting and inspiring.
‘A Dream Came True’ is an account of the growth and expansion of the Scouting and Guiding in India. The compendium of the history of Bharat Scouts and Guides was brought out to celebrate the 80th birthday of Pt. Hriday Nath Kunzru, a tall personality dedicated to the Scout Movement in India. Smt. Lakshmi Mazumdar - called “Human Dynamo” by Smt. Indira Gandhi, has put in a lot of hard work to collect necessary documents, manuscripts, copies of the journals and magazines. This book throws light on the contribution of the luminaries of Scouting and Guiding in India. It is an effort to remember those, who have stayed away from the lime light. “Hundreds of lesser known heroes, who would have been lost,if such efforts were not made in time.
We express our sincere thanks to Mr. Deepak Mazumdar and his wife Mrs. Pauline Mazumdar (son and daughter in law) of Smt. Lakshmi Mazumdar for their generous contribution in the publication of the second edition.
The Bharat Scouts and Guides is bringing out the IVth edition of the “Dream Came True”, as it is a rare book, in great demand. A person who is eager to know about the history of Scouting and Guiding in India must go through this book. This book gives a vivid description of the great people connected with theGovernment, Volunteers at various levels who contributed to the firm footing of the Bharat Scouts and Guides in India. It does not end for the growth of the movement in future,proper footing, establishment etc. are needed. Foreseeing all these, the National Headquarters building, establishing NTC and its development were taken care of by the stalwarts who planned procured, established for the future generations. If at all in this century, Scouts/Guides, members of the movement do enjoy the benefits, all these are due to our ancestor’s selfless service, forethoughts etc. A hundred years history cannot be put before the readers within 100 pages. It is voluminous but this book with the details given by Smt. Lakshmi Mazumdar about the
A Dream Came True iii
great movement has been made prestigious so that any member reading the book or visiting National Headquarters, NTC will be able to get an idea about the plan,perseverance,dedication of the great personalities for their contribution. Even a stranger or any person after many years who read this book will be able to recognise the persons and their contribution to a particular place or event.
Late Smt. Lakshmi Mazumdar had untiringly worked for the movement. Her contribution to the Bharat Scouts and Guides is phenomenal. She served the movement in various capacities and rose to the level of National Commissioner. Till her last breath, she was associated with the movement. This IVthedition will perpetuate her memory and inspire the rising generation to work with more dedication and devotion. Every member of this movement should own this book as his/her personal copy and record to have a clear knowledge of the history of Bharat Scouts and Guides and its development and growth.
Thanks to Mrs. K. Alamelu, Former Jt. Director(SS) and others, who have given a new shape with relevant photographs to make this book as pictures que and self explanatory, their efforts are to be remembered.
30 edward elliot road, mvlapore, madras-4, may 26, 1968
My Dear Mazumdar, Hridaynath Kunzru’s life is an example of dedicated service to the country without any expectation of reward or recognition. Such service we should all try to undertake. You are lucky in having such an illustrious guide for your Scouts and Guides.
With all good wishes.
Yours Sincerely, (S. Radhakrishnan)
Mrs. L. Mazumdar, National Commissioner, The Bharat Scouts and Guides. National Headquarters. New Delhi - 110002
Our thanks to Mrs. K. Alamelu, LT (G) & former Jt. Director (SS) for the contribution to update this wonderful and informatic book.
“Girija”
1. Chapter I: (PRELUDE) 1
2. Chapter II: STORY OF INDIAN SCOUTING 3
3. BOY SCOUTS INTERNATIONAL BUREAU 50
4. Chapter III: GIRL GUIDING IN -INDIA 65
5. Chapter IV: THE WORKING OF THE JOINT MOVEMENT 89
6. APPENDIX 95
7. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Humayun Kabir 97
8. Shir Mangaldas Pakvasa N. N. Pundole 100
9. Dr. H. N. Kunzru Vir Deva Vir 103
10. Shri Vivian Bose M. Hidayatullah 109
11. Smt. Queen Captain Zenobia Ranji 117
12. Dr. Tarachand R.K. Bhan 122
13. Dame Leslie Whateely Iris Ferries 126
14. Col. J. S. Wilson R. W. Bryan 131
15. The Role of the Bharat Scouts and Guides in the Training of Youth and Their Welfare
vi R. K. Kapur 136
Smt. lakshmi mazumdar national commissioner (1964 to 1983)
Shrimati Lakshmi Mazumdar has always been in the forefront of several events pertaining to the expansion of the Scout and Guide Movement in India and abroad.
She was honoured with various awards in token of her immense involvement in the Movement.
The 22nd Boy Scouts World Conference at Helsinki decided to award ‘Bronze Wolf’- the Highest Award of WOSM
- Padma Shree by the President of India was awarded on 20.05.1965.
She was presented Wood Badge by Mr. John Thurman Camp Chief Gilwell Park in 1965 and became the first lady in Asia and second in the World (first recipient was Lady Olave Baden Powell) to earn the Wood Badge.
In 1975 she received Singapore Scout Association’s highest scouting Award ‘The Distinguished Service Award (Gold)’.
- She was given ‘Gold Wood Badge’ of the Boy Scouts of America. Highest Scouting Awards were also conferred by Sri Lanka, Afganistan and Bangladesh Scout Associations.
- The role played by Mrs. Lakshmi Mazumdar in the
fourteenth WAGGGS conference in Norway in 1952 to present India’s possion clearly paved the way for the Guide section of the BS&G to receive its due affiliation with WAGGGS. This great contribution by her is ever to be remembered.
Mrs. Lakshmi Mazumdar initiated and the National Council on 28th March 1954 approved to affiliate with the WAGGGS. The World Committee of WAGGGS in its meeting in April 1954 affiliated India as its member and Smt. Lakshmi Mazumdar attended the 15th World Guide Conference in Holland as the first representative of the Bharat Scouts and Guides.
Smt. Lakshmi Mazumdar who was successful in procuring an offer of 7.5 acres of land in Pune and SANGAM was established under Smt. Mazumdar as the Chairperson. The Centre was formally opened by Lady Olave Baden Powell on 16th October 1966.
She was able to get land for National Training Centre, Pachmarhi.
She served as Chief Commissioner(G) of Bharat Scouts and Guides from Nov. 1960 to Feb. 1964.
She was the National Commissioner of Bharat Scouts and Guides from Feb. 1964 to April 1983.
Her contribution to the Bharat Scouts and Guides is ever remembered by one an all.
This volume has been brought out as part of the programme of the Bharat Scouts and Guides to celebrate the eightieth birthday of their beloved leader, Pandit Hridaynath Kunzru. Pandit Kunzru is one of the illustrious sons of India, who through his lifelong devotion to his manifold duties and his dedicated services to the country has won the admiration and love of hundreds of men and women in India and abroad.
In the Indian Scout Movement he occupies a special place. For nearly half a century, he worked relentlessly for the movement and helped assiduously in the growth of a unified National Organisation of the Scouts and Guides of India. It was therefore felt that the commemoration volume planned on the occasion of his attaining the eightieth birthday should contain an objective record of the development of the movement since its introduction in India about sixty years ago.
In the absence of systematic maintenance of old records at one place, it has not been easy for the writer to collect the facts and figures relating to the progress of the movement and write this history. She gratefully acknowledges the help and co-operation she received in her difficult work from a number of seniors who extended to her their old-times full co-operation and assistance by supplying her with the necessary documents, old manuscripts and copies of numerous old journals and bulletins.
The writer has attempted to include in this volume the contributions made by the leaders of the movement, at different stages, to its promotion and development. Obviously it has not been possible for her to include the names of all those who had
unobtrusively helped to build up the movement in its early stages. If she has unwittingly left out the creative services of some workers who should have been specially named, she would apologise to them and seek the indulgence of her readers, and beg of them to ascribe this omission to lack of timely information.
Apart from the Chapter on the History of Scouting in India, the volume contains short notes about men and women who had worked hard in the most difficult situation in pre-independence India and ultimately brought about the merger and helped in the formation of a National Movement. Eminent men and women, inspite of their heavy preoccupations have spared their time to write the notes. The writer acknowledges her appreciation of their gesture. In this context the writer would like to place on record the deep debt of gratitude which the movement owes to one of India’s greatest statesman, educationists and patriots. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, but for whose initiative and decisive leadership, the then existing camps in our movement would never have come together and merged in one unified national movement.
The entire cost of publication of the volume has been met out of the contributions collected by our trusted and beloved leader Shri Radhanath Rath, the State Chief Commissioner of Orissa. The volume was printed at Satyabadi Press, Cuttack and the cost of paper, binding and other incidentals has been met out of this collection. The book has been priced at the relatively low figure of Rs. 15/- only, so that it may have a wide circulation in and outside this country. The sale proceeds of the volume will be credited to a special Trust, and the interests on the fund will be utilised for the participation of selected “Kunzru’’ boys and “Kunzru’’ girls every three years in National and International gatherings. We record our grateful thanks to Shri Radhanath Rath and the authorities of the Satyabadi Press and other donors for their generous contributions, and their help and co-operation in bringing out this volume.
NEW DELHI Lakshmi Mazumdar August 28, 1968 National Commissionerxii
Sixty one years have passed since Scouting was born in England. The movement came to India about two years later. During this long spell of fifty eight years since its introduction in our country, in course of which two World Wars intervened. India, like many other countries of the World, particularly those in the South East Asian Region, had to adjust of her political economic and social structures to meet the challenges of the unprecedented changes in every sphere of life, necessarily, Indian Scouting could not avoid the pressures of these contemporary developments and had to adapt progressively its approaches, its structure and its scope to the changed social, political and economic aspirations of the people.
This was no easy job for its leaders, both men and women. Particularly for those who had to pioneer the promotion of the movement. In the beginning, it had to counteract the hostile forces both from within and outside. For the ideas embodied in the movement, although of universal appeal, were conceived by a citizen of a ruling country and were imported into our country from the Lord of its birth So, the start of the movement in our country was bedeviled by mutual suspicion and distrust. Moreover, some parts of the Scout Promise, which every enrolled member of the movement has to take, appeared to some people to contradict the political aspirations of emerging Indian nationalism. It was only through a determined spirit of adjustment and understanding that accommodation of conducting views was possible, and Scouting eventually emerged as a National Movement.
The two sections of the present unified organisation, viz.. Scouting and Guiding, started on their careers separately under the same conditions and situations, the former having an earlier start over the latter by three years only.
Moreover, although in the beginning both the sections suffered more or less from the same handicaps, the one which had an earlier start had to encounter further difficulties. By 1920, two organised Scouting camps were established in India. There was very little difference between their fundamental principles, and both the camps claimed to draw their inspiration from the Founder. Yet one of these camps was affiliated to the Imperial Headquarters of the Boy Scouts of England and enjoyed the blessings of the establishment of the then Indian Government while the other camp enjoyed the goodwill of a
number of Indian public men and women, working and agitating for the attainment of self-government for the Indian people.
It will, therefore, be appropriate to recount the story of the growth and development of Scouting and Guiding in India in the first two chapters of this volume; and in another chapter to deal with the processes of the merger of the two branches into a joint movement and the working of this movement during the last eighteen years.
The writer was a close witness to the happenings in their post merger period and has been personally involved in the developments that have taken place in recent years, particularly since 1964, in her capacity as National Commissioner of the Joint Organisation of Scouts and Guides. In this capacity she had to function as the ultimate decision-making authority. It would, nevertheless be her endeavour in the following chapters to narrate the story as objectively as possible.
“Though Scouting was presented to the world through the experimental camp which B.P. conducted on Brownsea Island in August. 1907 ’’says Col. J.S. Wilson in his book “Scouting Round the World’, “it had been a long time in the making.” From the accounts left behind by the close associates of B.P., it would appear that the ideas for the development of basic values of a human being, so that he could be a worthy citizen of his country, had occupied his mind for a long time. He had confided to his close friends and co-workers that the story of the qualities which the Knights of King Arthur’s Round Table were supposed to have possessed and influenced him to a great extent in thinking out the qualities which a good citizen was expected to imbibe. These ideas were working in his mind from as far as 1890. This can be confirmed from different sources and documents. Hence the Camp at Brownsea Island could well be regarded as firm evidence of the crystalisation of his thoughts and his first attempt to apply them in practice. Thus it was in 1907 that Scouting could be said to have been born officially. Since then it has grown steadily and spread beyond the frontiers of the country of its birth.
Scouting for Boys was a programme conceived and planned mainly for the benefit of British boys who were thrown out of their traditional environment in the wake of the industrial revolution, and also for those who had to go out to new lands with their parents who had left their mother country to find out new careers for themselves as traders, administrators, technicians and settlers in the colonies and countries under the English Crown. The ideas and programmes set out in the Scouting for Boys were, however, so universal that it was not long before they had travelled across the English Channel to many lands beyond the seas.
In India Scouting first came in for the benefit of British and AngloIndian boys, as a measure to bring home to them the traditional values of the British society so that the environment in a country so far away from their homefront might not obscure their ultimate duties and responsibilities as sons of Britain.
Understandably, the authorities of the newly formed movement did not envisage that the programme and ideals would be suitable for Indian boys, Col. J.S. Wilson, while describing his role as a
Scoutmaster, a Cubmaster and a Commissioner positions which he had simultaneously, while helping Sir Alfred Pickford in organising Scouting in Calcutta in 1917, writes, “Together we had been struggling for the admission of Indian boys into Boy Scouts Association. There was a Government of India Order against it, in which it was bluntly stated, ‘’Scouting might turn them to become revolutionaries’(See page 19, ‘Scouting Round the World’) Similarly, we learnt from our veteran leader Sardar Har Dial Singh that when he was helping Rev. R. H. Ferger in 1918 as his Assistant Scoutmaster in running a troop at Dehradun, they drew similar suspicion from the authorities for their revolutionary activities.
The establishment of three Indian Universities in the second half of the last century and the adoption of the western educational system, as against the traditional system, brought in an on rush of new ideas in every sphere of life in India. The newly educated classes in Indian society were clamouring for reforms and the acceptance of new thoughts and ideas in every field. It was no wonder that in the area of youth welfare also the demand for the adoption of Scouting for Indian boys became increasingly persistent.
Against this background, Indian Scouting made its debut spontaneously in different parts of the country- in the towns and cities wherever enthusiastic and competent leadership was available. It is worth noting that in this effort both Indians and non-Indians took an effective lead. In writing the early history of Indian Scouting one cannot, therefore, give strictly chronological account of the growth of the movement. It must necessarily be a chain of stories connected with the rise and growth of disciplined troops under dynamic and localised leadership in several parts of the country.
This state of affairs continued till the visit to India of the Founder and the Chief Guide in 1921. Several small organisations, on state or area basis, sprang up and carried on their work without much co-ordination with one another. During his first visit in 1921 B.P. tried his best to give a lead to the formation of an All India Organisation. He succeeded in bringing in a large section of Indian Scouting into the fold of the official Boy Scouts Association but failed to bring about an agreement with another important section. Thus the history of Indian Scouting started with two major camps. Even within these camps, the leaders of the movement could not establish authoritative centres on an all India basis. The Seva Samiti
Organisation had its stronghold in the then United Province, the Baden - Powell movement, grew province-wise with only a loose connection between the different prominent branches.
It may be interesting to note that although Girl Guiding in India began its life with the same kind of handicaps from which the brother movement had suffered, namely, that the Indian girls were debarred from enrollment as Girl Guides, the All India Organisation came into being soon after the visit of the Founder and the Chief Guide in 1921, and became one of founder members of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 1929. The Indian Scout movement received its direct affiliation with the International Scout Bureau only after the second visit of the Founder in 1937. The Seva Samiti Scout Association had a band of Girl Guides under its fold but this wing had hardly any adult women leaders to lead them. Later on when the Hindustan Scout Association was formed, it was able to enlist a few women Commissioners, but for technical leadership they had to depend on their men leaders.
When Scouting came to India in 1909, two years after the camp on Brownsea Island, Scout troops consisting of British and AngloIndian boys were formed at Bangalore (Mysore), Kirkee (Poona), Simla and Jabalpur. These troops were registered with the ‘Imperial Headquarters’ in London. A large number of Scouts belonging to the above groups assembled in Calcutta during the visit of King George V in December 1911. In order to co-ordinate the work of the troops in India, Chief Commissioner, an Assistant Chief Commissioner and a General Secretary were appointed by the Imperial Headquarters in 1912. The first Scout Magazine ‘Ye India Scout’ was brought out in 1911. This name was later changed into ‘ The Boy Scouts Gazette of India’.
Mr. Vivan Bose, after his return to India from England in 1913, began to explore the possibilities of starting Scouting in India on a basis of complete equality for all boys in the country irrespective of race, religion or caste. He had overwhelming support among most Indians and many Englishmen but ran up against a brick wall of hostility in Government circles. After a series of protracted negotiations behind the scenes, he found that he was not getting support anywhere. So he broke off negotiations and set the movement going in the then Central Provinces and Berar on his own, on a purely private basis. Similarly, in Benaras (U.P.) about this time Dr. G. S. Arundale (an Englishman) found
a scout troop at the Theosophical High School and Mr. L.G de Silva formed another group at Rampur (C.P). During this period Pandit Shri Ram Bajpai started a troop under the name Bal Seva Dal at Shajhanpur (Uttar Pradesh). Thus in the history of Indian Scouting the names of Mr. Vilian Bose, Pandit, Shri Ram Bajpai, Dr. G.S. Arundale and Mr. L.G de Silva will go down as the pioneers of our Movement.
Mr. Vivan Bose
Dr. G.S. Arundale
Pandit Shri Ram Bajpai
By the end of 1916, Scout troops sprang up sporadically in Assam, Baluchistan, Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, in the then Nizam’s Dominion, North West Frontier Province, Punjab, Bombay, Central Province, Madras, Mysore, Rajputana, Sind and U.P.
The relevant census figures showing the number of scouts in different years were as follows:1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 502 1154 2038 2277 2699
From 1916 onwards the “Imperial Headquarters” permitted Scout Troops with Indian boys to be registered in their office.
It has been already explained why the early history of Indian Scouting must necessarily consist of a bunch of short accounts about the movement in different provinces carried on under entirely local leadership. Very few documents are available on the basis of which a full history of the growth and development of the movement in its formative years could be compiled. In the following paragraphs I shall, however, make an attempt to give a bird’s eye view of the movement province-wise, supported by the few documents to which I could have access within the relatively short time at my disposal.
Bengal was one of the pioneering provinces of India which had accepted higher education through the medium of the English
language at a very early date, and had thus exposed itself to the new and modem ideas of the West as they prevailed in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The west oriented educated Bengali middle class leaders in the field of education and other profession realised that, as a first step towards winning Swaraj from the British, India must build up worthy citizens. Along with other ideas, the story of Scouting as planned by B.P. for citizenship training reached Calcutta fairly early in the history of Scouting. A new set of England returned professionals such as Dr. S.K. Mullick, Lt. Col. Dr. S.P. Sarbahikary, Shri D.N. Bose Bar at law, Shri Satish Mitra, Bar-at-law, etc. to name only a few of them, took the initiative and formed the Bengalee Boy Scout League in 1914. Later, this name was changed under a new name Bengalee Scouts Association was given to the organisation. Among the first batch of trained Scouts, the name of Shri Saroj Ghose (a former National Secretary of the Bharat Scouts and Guides) and the late Shri Satta Bose Shri Ranen Ghose the present State Secretary of West Bengal, Bharat Scouts and Guides, and Shri J.M. Ghose, Barat law deserve special mention. The latter was the first Bengali to be warranted as a Scout Master. The Association sought the affiliation of the London Headquarters but failed to get it. It may be noted here that forward looking British officials and others, living in India had full sympathy for this demand of Indian Scouting for recognition by the Headquarters in England. Among those who took an active part in this matter were Sir Lancelot Sanderson, the then Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, Sir Alfred Pickford, Major N. M. Ross, Col. J. S. Wilson and Rev. R.W. Bryan. H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught came to India in connection with the inauguration of Reformed Legislative Councils in August. 1920. In his honour a Rally of B.P. Boy Scouts was held in which some Indian Scouts also participated. On that occasion Sir Alfred Pickford the then Chief Commissioner of India in his capacity as head of the Indian Branch of the B.P. Association, convened a Conference of the All India Scouts Associations. The Conference was held in Calcutta on 20 and 21 August 1920. Pandit H.N. Kunzru, Chief Commissioner, Seva Samiti Scout Association and Mr. F.G. Pearce Chief Commissioner, Indian Boy Scouts Association also attended this conference. Dr. Mohan Singh Mehta and Pandit Shri Ram Bajpai accompanied Pandit H.N. Kunzru to assist him at the conference. The majority of the participants, however belonged to the B.P. Association. Among
All India Boys Scout Association Conference held at Calcutta in August 1920. Dr. Annie Besant is seated in the middle
the Indian members of the B.P. Association the names of Shri J.N. Ghose, Shri D.N. Basu and Shri V.G. Barpute deserve to be mentioned here. While Shri J.N. Ghose and Shri D.N. Basu have been called away for higher services, Shri V.G Barpute who is in his eighties is still active in the movement in Madhya Pradesh. Dr. Annie Besant, the architect of the Indian Scout Association who also participated in the conference, forcefully explained the point of view of Indian Scouting. The conference unanimously decided to invite the Chief Scout to come out to India in order to help in the establishment of an unified organisation for Indian Scouting. As a result of this conference, the then Viceroy of India officially extended an invitation to the Founder and the Chief Guide. The first Wood Badge Course in India was held at Calcutta (in Tollygunj) from the 3rd to the 12th of February, 1922. Sir Alfred Pickford, Dy. Camp Chief acted as Scout Master, Mr. J. S. Wilson, Dy. Camp Chief as Assistant Scout Master and Rev. Earle, as the Troop Leader. Among those who attended the Course were: Shri N.N. Bhose, Shri Haridas, Mr. Zachariah, Md. Z. Kasim, Mr. L.R. W. Jacob, Mr. Goswami Mr. D.M.Lawrence, Mr. B.C. Studd, Mr. H.E. G Tate, Mr. K.F, Son, Mr. Watkinson, Mr. D.P. Tamhy and Shri Satta Bose. The second Wood Badge Course was held again in Tollygunj, Calcutta from 19th to 30th January, 1923 with Mr. J. S. Wilson, Chief as the Scout Master, Mr. J.A. Kirpham, Chief as the Assistant Scout
This year ‘Scouting for Boys in India’ was also introduced by Lord Ronaldshay, the then Governor of Bengal who took a great deal of interest in the promotion of Scouting among the boys. Following the pattern of King’s Scouts, the best qualified Scouts of Bengal were named as Governor’s Scouts. Among those who won this distinction were:
Shri Amar Bose (Late) Shri Anil Dutt
Shri Ashim Dutt
Shri Biren Bose
Shri Provas De Shri Subodh Dutt
The story of Scouting in the then United Province (now known as (U.P.) had brought about a far-reaching impact on Scouting in India. Like other parts of India the need for citizenship training for boys was deeply felt by educationists and other prominent thinking men. As a result sporadic but spontaneous Scout Troops sprang up here
II : STORY OF INDIAN SCOUTING
Master, Shri N.N. Bhose (for sometime) and Rev. Earle as the Troop Leaders.
First Wood Badge Course held in Calcutta in 1922 conducted by Sir Alfred Pickford as Scout Master and Col. J.S. Wilson as Assistant Scout Master
and there. I should particularly like to mention the group formed in 1918 at the A.P. Mission School, Dehra Dun with Rev. H. R. Ferger as the Scoutmaster. Later on when Mr. Langley Moon was appointed a full time Provincial Commissioner, more scout troops were formed in different parts of the Province. These troops were affiliated with the Indian Boy Scouts Association, Madras. Side by side, a small seed, acorn, in the form of a boys’ group called Bal Sevak Dal, was sworn in 1913 by Pandit Shri Ram Bajpai at Shahjahanpur. Within a short time it grew into a mighty tree, attaining its full stature as the Hindustan Scout Association in 1938. The specific contributions of this organisation to Indian Scouting were that although it drew its inspiration from the fundamental principles of the Scout Law and the Promise as laid down by the Founder, in its objectives it was fully in tune with the aspirations of Young India for the attainment of Swaraj based on the best elements in India’s past heritage; and that it provided meaningful idealism to the boys under its fold by encouraging them to participate in the social welfare needs of the country.
While Dr. Annie Besant and her friends were agitating in the South for the recognition of the eligibility of Indian boys for enrolment as Scouts in the movement, the matter received serious attention in the North also from prominent educationists and public men of eminence like Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya. Pandit H.N. Kunzru, Dr. G S. Arundale, etc. At the invitation of the Prayag Samiti in 1918 Pandit Shri Ram Bajpai brought his volunteers to the Kumbh Mela at Allahabad. The dedicated services rendered by the group in controlling the crowds and offering assistance to the pilgrims impressed the leaders of the Seva Samiti Organisation- so much so, that both Pandit Malaviya and Pandit Kunzru prevailed upon Bajpai to stay on at Allahabad and organise scouting through the Seva Samiti Organisation. Thus on December 1, 1918 the Seva Samiti Scout Association was inaugurated with its headquarters at the Seva Samiti Building at Allahabad, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya was its first Chief Scout and Pandit H.N. Kunzru its first Chief Commissioner. Shri Ram Bajpai was appointed Chief Organising Commissioner.
The dynamism of Shri Ram Bajpai and the selfless leadership of Pandit Kunzru drew a large number of prominent men and women into the fold of the organisation. Besides the service oriented activities of the scouts and the emphasis laid on
adherence to the traditional and indigenous culture in the programme caught the imagination of the people. Within a few years it became an effective youth movement with troops in other parts of the country affiliated to it.
During his official visit to India the World Chief Scout and the Chief Guide visited Allahabad, and witnessed a combined Rally of the Indian Boy Scouts Association and the Seva Samiti Scout Association organised in their honour on the 5th February, 1921. About, one thousand Scouts from all over U.P. welcomed the Chief Scout on the grounds of Muir College, Allahabad.
The Chief Commissioner of the Seva Samiti Association, Pandit H.N. Kunzru, accorded a hearty welcome to the Founder in glowing terms. He stressed the importance of keeping the movement out of Government control and official interference. In his reply the Chief Scout assured Pandit Kunzru that he also approved of the views held by him, and stressed the importance of the International character of the Movement, observing:-
“We all belong to a human family. Your own Poet Sir Rabindra Nath Tagore has given out that splendid idea in his lines. God has put men in the world to enjoy kindly nature. We can try and make it a practical proposition by trying to produce worthy citizens among the new generations all over the world. Genuine good feeling and sympathy for one another, and sincere effort for making human fellowship will keep them together”.
In 1921 from the floor of the House, Pandit Kunzru as the member of the U.P. Legislative Assembly put forward a claim for government assistance to his Association. The then Education Minister Shri C. Y. Chintamani accepted the claim pressed by Pandit Kunzru, and divided equally the annual grant in-aid of Rs. 24,000/- between the two Scout Organisations operating in the Province. Besides, with the special grant-in-aid sanctioned by the Provincial Government, the Seva Samiti Scout Association arranged to send Shri Ram Bajpai to Gilwell for his Wood Badge training at the International Training Centre. On his way back Bajpai visited a number of countries in Europe and studied the working of the movement in those places. He revisited these countries again in 1929 to review his old contacts and went over to the U.S.A. to study Scouting in America.
The Seva Samiti Scout Association attracted a number of devoted men to work for the Movement, among those who took a prominent part in building it up were Dr. Mohan Singh Mehta, Dr. D.L. Anand Rao and Shri Janki Saran Verma. The Seva Samiti
II
STORY OF INDIANScout Association was more popular in the U.P. than the Boy Scouts Association. By 1935 the number of Scouts in the Association in U.P. rose to 38,000.
Scouting came to the old Bombay Presidency in 1909 but only the European and Anglo-Indian boys were eligible for admission into the movement. The oldest troop in India was established in the Bishop High School, Kirkee, Poona. Thereafter Scouting was introduced to other European Schools in Bombay among which mention may be made of the well-known Cathedral High School.
The Parsee community in Bombay was one of the first sections of Indian Society to take full advantage of the new University established in Bombay and to adopt West-oriented higher education through the English medium. Later the newly educated classes and the ‘England returned’ gentry fully appreciated the need for citizenship training as part of its educational system. In 1914, some time in August, a troop by the name of Parsee Scouting Society was formed. It still exists and celebrated its Silver and Golden Jubilees in 1939 and 1964. Commander K.B. Godrej was a member of this troop. The late Mr. Rustomji Sethna was the Scout Master. Initially this troop was formed under the auspices of St. John’s Ambulance. Another group called a Day Vadnya Scout Association also came into being. Several other sporadic groups sprang up spontaneously.
The Indian Boy Scouts Association convened a Scout Officers’ Camp in May, 1919. The well organized programme of the camp and the quality of the participants showed the progress and the strength which the Indian Boy Scouts Association had achieved during the last few years. At the end of the camp, an All-India Conference was held which passed a resolution pressing for the admission of Indian Scouts into the World Brotherhood of Scouting.
In July, 1921 at Government House, Poona, the first meeting of the Provincial Council of the Indian Boy Scouts Association was held with the Governor Sir George Llyod as President. The Council elected the Governor as their Chief Scout and Sir N. Chandravarkar the first Provincial Commissioner. Dr. Annie Besant, the Mir of Khairpur, the Maharaja of Kolhapur, the Maharaja of Navanagar were invited to serve on the Executive Committee of the Association.
Madras was one of the cities where the newly established University threw up a number of English educated young men and women. They formed a thick layer of educationists and professionals bringing in ideas for all round advance in society. The presence of the dynamic personality of Dr. Besant in Madras and her prominent part in pressing forward reforms in every aspect of Indian society and politics gave additional support and encouragement for these efforts. Naturally, the need for introduction of Scouting among Indian boys as a measure of citizenship training did not escape the public mind. As a matter of fact, Dr. Besant herself took the initiative in creating public opinion not only in Madras but everywhere else in the country, urging Government to extend all possible help in introducing Scouting among the Indian boys. It was under her patronage that the Indian Scout Association was established in Madras which later opened sister associations in a number of Provinces. She collected a number of devoted workers around her to help her in her task. Among those who took a leading part in these efforts were Mr. F. G. Pearce, Mr. M. V. Venkateswaran, Dr. G. S. Arundale, Shri Krishnan Menon, Shri S. V. Kamath.
Under the pressure of public opinion, an association called the Boy Scouts of India was established in 1916, with Lord Pent-land, the then Governor of Madras as the Chief Scout of Madras. Mr. J. Vincent was appointed full time Organizing Commissioner for the Presidency.
Thus two Scout Organisations, viz., the Boy Scouts Association and the Indian Scouts Association became active in Madras side by side. By 1920 the then Governor of Madras Lord Willingdon saw the danger of permitting two associations working in the field and extended his official pressure on the authorities of the two organisations
to bring about a merger. In 1920 under the name The South India Boy Scouts Association, a new Organisation comprising the above two associations was formed. This may be recorded as the first successful attempt at merger of more than one Association in India.
The first Scout troop of purely Indian boys in the Central Provinces and Berar, and indeed, in India, was started in Chanda by the Rev. Alex Wood, later Bishop of Chota Nagpur and then of Nagpur, in 1908. It was registered direct with Imperial Headquarters in London as there was no Scout Association in India to which it could be attached. This was before Imperial Headquarters changed its policy and refused to admit Indian Boys.
A few years later, Mr. L. G. de Silva attended a training course at Gilwell Park in England and got the Wood Badge. On his return to India he started a troop of Indian boys in Jabalpur in or about 1915. The policy of exclusion had then come into force; so his troop was a private one not affiliated to any organisation. This was most courageous of him, as Mr. de Silva was then in Government service and the Education Department vehemently opposed to Scouting for Indian boys. The authorities even went to the length of threatening sanctions against those who advocated it.
When Mr. Vivian Bose returned to India from England in 1913 he explored the possibility of starting Scout Troops, not only for Indian boys, but for everybody on a basis of complete equality. He met with open hostility from Government but worked behind the scenes in the hope of bringing about a change. When, however, he found government attitudes hardening and becoming more hostile and bitter, he gave up and branched off on his own in 1918.
But pressures had been mounting even before 1913. So Government started a movement called the School-boy League of Honour for Indian boys and wanted Mr. Bose to work for this. He refused on four grounds: (1) it was based on racial discrimination with the underlying assumption that Indians were inferior and not fit to mix with their western counterparts on terms of equality; (2) it was a pale and bad imitation of Scouting, so, with the genuine article at hand, it was unwise to turn to a patently defective, inferior substitute; (3) it was parochial in character and lacked the international vision; and (4) it was limited to school boys and excluded the vast majority of Indian youth.
The opposition to Scouting was deeper than mere political apprehension, though the fear of training revolutionaries was put forward as the official reason. At base, it was emotional and was grounded on racial arrogance. Many Englishmen of that period felt that Indians were inferior to the “whites” and that it would put wrong ideas into Indian heads if they were led to believe that Indian boys were the brothers and equals of white boys. Also, the very thought of English boys mixing with Indian boys and calling each other “brother Scouts” filled them with a repugnance as deep as that of an old time Brahmin for an untouchable.
In fairness to the British it must be acknowledged that all Englishmen in India were not of that view. There were many like Col.: Wilson and Sir Alfred Pickford in Bengal and Sir Frank Sly in the Central Provinces who fought this attitude. But those who thought otherwise were then in power and were able to impose their views on the Central and Provincial Governments and carry Imperial Headquarters with them.
Mr. Bose considered that the best way of winning the battle was not propaganda and platform oratory but practical demonstration. So he started a small scoutmasters’ training class in Nagpur in 1918. He, supposedly, imparted the training but in reality he learnt more from his “pupils” than they from him. In view of the Government ban he was not able to draw on schoolmasters and had to rely on those who were not connected with schools. The trainees were only able to meet at week ends ; so the course extended over four months ending with two camps. Compared to modern courses it was farcical. Each had a copy of ‘Scouting for Boys’ in his hand and tried to carry out in practice each “lesson” in the book with many arguments about its meaning and how it should be done. But the spirit was there, the foundations were sound, and it bore good fruit.
Things moved informally till 1920 when it was felt that the time was ripe to rope in the boys. Accordingly, another small group was formed into a second scoutmasters’ training class around the original nucleus. They worked carefully through “Scouting for Boys”.
Six troops were started. Only one of these groups was a schoolmaster. The breakup is interesting. One was a Brahmin, one a Parsee, two Indian Christians (one a Protestant and the other a Roman Catholic), one a Scotch missionary and the other an English Professor at the Bishop College.
S. C. Chobbs, a well known local cricketer working in the Nagpur Municipality, started the first Nagpur troop known as the Nagpur Pioneers. He left Nagpur for Raipur in January 1921 and handed it over to Mr. Vivian Bose who ran it till 1929.
When things got well under way, campfires and local rallies were organized in Nagpur to which the public were invited. Care was taken to include British Government officials in high places so that they could see for themselves the “demoralising” and “subversive” activities of Indian Scouts. This had effect and many Englishmen and women felt privately that government was being just plain silly; some felt a little ashamed. In time, many government officials became enthusiastic supporters of the movement and helped in their private capacities.
In the meanwhile, other pressures were building up and Government felt that something would have to be done before the movement got out of hand. So they asked Imperial Headquarters to send out a trained Scout leader for five years. Their hope was that they would be able to keep the movement under strict Government supervision and control without seeming to do so. Imperial Headquarters selected Joseph Ross, a Scotch businessman and gave him the Honourable charge of Deputy Camp Chief. But Government did not want to take, or at any rate, appear to take official responsibility for the experiment or disband their School-boy League of Honour. So Mr. Ross was loaned to the Y.M.C.A., and the Y. M. C. A. in turn loaned him to the Central Provinces and Berar. Government paid the Y. M. C. A: Ross’s salary and the Y. M. C. A. passed it on to Ross. This was in 1920.
Ross was asked to make his headquarters at Jabalpur. He made a preliminary survey, carefully examined the Schoolboy League of Honour Scheme, and finding that Scout troops were functioning at Nagpur and Jabalpur, got into touch with Messrs Bose and de Silva.
Much to the chagrin of the die-hards, Ross found himself in complete agreement with these two gentlemen and courageously joined hands with them. The Province was also fortunate in having a wise and sympathetic Governor, Sir Frank Sly at that time who was in entire sympathy with the Scout movement and its objectives and ideals. He encouraged this group to go ahead. So their activities were enlarged to a Provincial scale and they were now able to include schoolmasters among the Scouters.
Ross was a born leader who threw himself heart and soul into the work. He was over six feet tall and broad in proportion. He was independent, deeply sincere and honest in his views and firm in his convictions. He made a deep impression and no one who .attended training courses could fail to be carried away with his enthusiasm and be inspired with his ideals.
The Chief Scout, Lord Baden-Powell, and the Chief Guide visited India in 1921. They came to Jabalpur on the 6th and 7th of February. Ross organized a Provincial Rally, limited in numbers to 220 for want of space and accommodation. De Silva already had his troops there and Bose brought a contingent of 67 from Nagpur. Another 13 of the Rev. J. R. Mackenzie’s troop from Chanda joined them at Nagpur, raising the number to 80.
There was a small meeting with the Chief Scout in which Messrs Bose and de Silva confronted the Government champions of the League of Honour. The latter had the worst of it and nothing more was heard of that movement after this.
Bose had a private interview with the Chief Scout and told him that there were no obstacles in the Province to the Scouts linking up with Imperial Headquarters provided they were accepted on equal terms. The controversial questions about the Flag and the Scout Promise had been considered and agreed to. But, if Indian boys were
still to be excluded, or could not be admitted on equal terms, the Central Provinces and Berar would continue on their own as they had been doing and would not confine their movement to any race or creed.
In May 1921, Ross ran a Scoutmasters’ training class at Chhindwara. As no one had any previous experience or training, the course lasted a month. There were no restrictions: a French Roman Catholic priest, the Rev. Father Chevalier, attended; two Americans, Messrs Potee and Moody; an Englishman; T. L. H. Smith-Pearse, also Vivian Bose. There were about 40 in all. The trainees had to do their own cooking and catering. For the most part they cooked in small groups.
The training course was a great success and troops soon sprang up all over the Province. As it was impossible to leave a large number of scattered independent troops on their own, it was decided to form a Provincial Association. This involved negotiations with Government as Ross was paid by them or rather, Government paid the Y. M. C. A. and the Y. M. C. A. paid him. Eventually the following was agreed to :
(1) The Association was to have complete independence;
(2) Government would continue to pay Ross’s salary through the Y. M. C. A. and, in addition, would make a direct grant to the Association; but no strings of any kind were to be attached;
(3) The Association was to be non-political and nondenominational and open to all on the same basis, whether Indian or European;
(4) It was to be strictly voluntary;
(5) Government servants were free to join or help if they wanted to, but in a purely personal and private capacity.
The Association was called the Central Provinces and Berar Boy Scouts Association. Ross was appointed the Organizing Secretary and Bose the Honorary Secretary, a post he held till July 1931 when he was made Provincial Commissioner.
The Association could not afford either an office or a clerk, or even a typist. Throughout this time Bose had to do the work himself. Ross also had no office or typist, though he was given an Assistant, M. R. Mandloi. But he had to do his own typing and letter writing.
The Association was an informal one in that it was not registered under the Societies Registration Act, but it functioned in a regular way and was organized along the usual Scout lines with Local Associations, etc.
When the Boy Scouts Association in India was formed, the C. P. and Berar Association was affiliated to that body, which in turn, was affiliated to Imperial Headquarters in London, and that, of course, was affiliated with the International Bureau. The Provincial link with the International Bureau was thus indirect.
The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII and now Duke of Windsor) visited Nagpur on January 30,1922. A Rally was held for him at Government House. The Scouts were then 748 strong in the Province. Of these, 619 attended the Rally, 190 from Nagpur and 429 from outside. Eighteen districts were represented.
After the Chhindwara Scoutmasters’ Training Course in May 1921, Ross spent the next two years touring the Province and getting troops and Local Associations under way.
In May 1923 he held a series of Scouters’ Training Camps at Pachmarhi. Those who knew the place were able to convince him that was ideal for the purpose. From then all the main training camps were held there during every hot weather. Bose attended the first Wood Badge course as a trainee and got the Wood Badge. After that he acted as Assistant Scoutmaster at every succeeding Camp at Pachmarhi. In some years he took his Scouts up there at the request of Ross to act as a “demonstration troop” for the duration of the courses.
Endeavour was made to rope in as much outside talent as possible. John L. Mott of the Y. M. C. A. and the Rev. J. R. Mackenzie of the Chanda Scottish Episcopal Mission, both expert swimmers, supervised the swimming lessons and taught life saving. Mott, who was an expert diver, gave many exhibitions of fancy diving and taught those who were willing to learn. The Rev. Father Chevalier was a Roman Cathliolic priest. T. L. H. Smith-Pearse was from the Rajkumar College at Raipur. The young Ruler of Rajnandgaon came and went in his Rolls Royce but lived and worked in the camp like the rest for the entire ten days. Bose was a lawyer. Ross’s background was business.
There was an interregnum of some months between Ross and Houghton. Bose had to step into the breach and do the secretarial part of the Organizing Secretary’s work in addition to his own as Honorary Secretary. He did not find his “honorary clerk” till five years later. One of the tasks of the Organizing Secretary was
OF INDIANthe editing of a monthly Scout News Sheet of 8 pages. Bose had frequently written this from cover to cover to get it out on time as expected “copy” failed to materialise.
An important conference of Scouters and Commissioners was held at Nagpur in 1929 on December 18, 19 and 20. There had been an earlier one on a smaller scale at Jabalpur in December 1923. In the Nagpur Conference, the Feudatory States of the Province, and 20 out of the 23 Scout districts, sent representatives. One of the matters discussed was the formation of a Training Team in order to leave the Organizing Secretary with more time for advanced training. Houghton implemented this decision. The Report for 1929/30 says that:
“This team will be made up of at least one man for each District under the supervision of the Provincial D.C.C. Each member will be expected to organize and conduct at least one elementary training course in his own District each year”
Twenty five Scouters from 22 Districts volunteered almost immediately that year.
After Hougton left, M. B. Mandloi and T. Y. Deo were made Joint Organizing Secretaries and were given two Assistants, M. N. Kagalkar and Raj Bahadur Singh.
It will now be more convenient to set out the kind of activities on which attention was focussed in the Province. There was a constant endeavour to get out of the ordinary ruts and work imaginatively.
A. K. Bose, a cousin of Vivian Bose, joined the Nagpur Pioneers on 9-2-1921 as Assistant Scoutmaster. He later became the AccountantGeneral of Burma. When the Japanese overran Rangoon during the war, he was among those who fled on foot through the treacherous jungles between Burma and Assam over the famous Burma Road. He says that his Scout training in Nagpur saved his life, especially what he had learned of practical camping and sensible hiking.
As a result of these demonstrations and the good work that was being done throughout the Province, goodwill for the Scouts grew rapidly. Interest developed and help came from many sources. As already explained, the Y. M. C. A. helped with the services of John L. Mott, S. C. L. Nasir, Harold Petersen and J. Aiman; Sir Bezonji Mehta, the Manager of the Empress Mills was interested and cooperative; Khan Bahadur Byramji, a businessman helped; Khan Bahadur Malik of the Mehdi Bagh community and Khan Sahib Hassonjee, heads of their business fitness in Nagpur assisted; an English wireless operator of the British Forces in Nagpur gave lessons in his spare
DREAm CAmE TRUEtime; the police co-operated and gave the Scouts practical lessons in traffic control and allowed them to attend to the parking of cars at public functions. Later, District Councils, Municipalities and other. Local Bodies became enthusiastic, and Malguzars and Zamindars in village areas and aboriginal tracts were drawn in.
Industrial Scouting: A group of Scout troops, rising to 9 in 1935/36 was started among the sons of the Empress Mills workers in Nagpur in 1921. They were in charge of J. Aiman. This group was started at the instance of John L. Mott (brother of Mrs. Vivian Bose) and S. C. L. Nasir of the Y. M. C. A. These two were then doing Welfare Work among the Mill labourers and decided that Scout training was what their boys needed. Sir Bezonji Mehta, who was then Manager of the Mills, was also interested and co-operative. The boys were nearly all members of the so-called “depressed classes”.
Aiman attended the World Jamboree in England in 1929 and then went on to a Gilwell Training Course and got the Wood Badge.
In Jabalpur, Ross started a group of Scouts in the Gun Carriage Factory. This was still doing good work in year 1936/37, the latest year for which annual reports are available.
Borstal Institute:- Scout Troops were started in the Borstal Institute at Narsinghpur in 1930 at the instance of Houghton. The troops proved a success. Importance was attached to their being allowed to mix with outside troops and not consider themselves outcasts from society. The Reports from 1931/32 to 1936/37 record that their Scouts were allowed to go out and play games with school troops and that the Borstal Scouts were encouraged to entertain outside boys in the Institute. In 1932 there were 122 Scouts divided into four troops.
Handicapped Scouts:- The work here was limited to Blind Scouts and lepers.
A troop was started at the Blind School at Nagpur in 1932 by a Scoutmaster who was also blind. These Scouts were an attractive feature at all local Rallies and showed their dexterity in threading needles and doing other things which even those blessed with sight do not find easy.
Scouting was introduced in the Leper Asylum at Chand - Khuri, the second largest leper institute in India, by the Rev. J. H. Schultz. He sent Fall, one of the House fathers, to a training course at Pachmarhi and then started his Scouting. In 1930 their group numbered 80. Schultz’s report of that year says that “the Guides are also working
OF INDIANamong the girls in the asylum and the two together have entirely changed the atmosphere of the “Institution.” In 1932 he reported that Scouting and Guiding “have had a marked effect upon their mental development, their manners and their happiness”. He was so pleased with the results that he wanted the movements to be extended to the other Leper Asylums in the Province.
In 1933, the numbers at Chandkhuri rose to 216 and the work was extended to the Asylums at Champa and Dhamtari. Schultz was made the District Scout Commissioner for his area in that year.
In 1935 a fourth Leper Asylum at Dhanilari was added to the list. The latest Reports available (1936/37) show that Scouting continued to flourish in all these institutions.
Public Service :- This proceeded along the usual lines at melas, fairs and so forth; also at fires and with life- saving. These are now normal Scout activities. But the following extract from the speech of Vivian Bose on 15-8-1934 made at a meeting of the Provincial Association, is worth mentioning. In answer to the criticism that the Scouts were not independent, he said, “When Mahatma Gandhi recently toured a part of these Provinces in connection with his Harijan movement our Scouts turned out to assist him and he was kind enough to say that he appreciated their work. Of course, this occurred recently when it did not require the same courage to stand out for independence. What is more significant is that we did these things in our earlier years when Congress was suspected. We turned out, for instance, to help regulate traffic at the National Congress which was held at Nagpur some years ago. 1 think, that is enough to show that, whatever our defects, we have at least been independent and have had the courage to be true to our principles non-party, nonpolitical, freedom for every kind and shade of opinion”.
Incidentally, a few years later, Bose, who was then Provincial Commissioner and a judge of the Nagpur High Court, refused to withdraw the Warrant of a Scouter who was doing excellent work, just because he was convicted by the Courts and sent to jail for a purely political offence not involving moral turpitude. When Col. Wilson arrived, Bose motored him up to Pachmarhi as the train journey was tedious and long. They went via Seoni to enable Col. Wilson to capture something of the atmosphere of the Jungle Books. He was shown the place 16 miles out of Seoni which is called (quite wrongly) the “Council Rock”.
A Scot Missionary, the Rev. Macneil, who lived in Seoni, wrote to Sir Rudyard Kipling and asked him whether the local legend was authentic. Sir Rudyard replied that he could not have described the place better himself, but, as he had ever been either to Seoni or the Central Provinces he regretted he was not able to endorse the local tradition. He said he had gathered his background for the Jungle Books from Sterndale’s book, “Seonee”.
Col. Wilson conducted three Training Courses there. He lived in the camp but was provided with a horse so that he could go for rides in the mornings and afternoons and survey the ground for the first class hikes.
PUNJAB :
Like other provinces of India, Punjab also did not lag behind in taking up Scouting as citizenship training for boys. By 1917 Scout troops of Indian boys were formed in several institutions, namely, the Rangmahal Mission School, the Aitchesen and Central Model Schools in Lahore and the Khalsa Collegiate School of Amritsar. Rev. H. R. Ferger took the initiative of introducing Scouting in Lahore and Ludhiana while at Amritsar the work started under the leadership of Principal E. H. Wathen. Rev. Ferger drew up a scheme similar to Scouting but with a four-fold Promise instead of the three. The troops under this new scheme were called ‘Ailichi’ instead of Scouts.
By 1920 under the pressure of public opinion and with the sincere help from the then Chief Commissioner Sir Alfred Pickford Scout groups under the B. P. system sprang up. With the help of Rev. Ferger in 1920 a Scout troop was formed in the Christian Boys’ Boarding School in Ludhiana. This troop was inspected by the then Education Minister, Mian Fazl-i-Husain.
The first Scout training camp was held in Lahore from 14 to 24 December, 1921. Mr. H. W. Hogg of Y.M.C. A. ran this course. The Provincial Council for Punjab was reconstituted with Rev. W. T. Wright as Provincial Commissioner and Mr. H. W. Hogg as Provincial Secretary. Twenty eight prominent men from Punjab were included in the reconstituted Council as its members.
By 1920 the ‘Imperial Headquarters’ changed their attitude towards Scouting among Indian branch of the Association with Indian Scouts and Commissioners. It may be inferred that
the political reforms introduced in 1919 as a first step towards the attainment of self-government, the pressing demand for Indianisation of the Scout movement, and the growing sensitiveness in the country to issue of national prestige, had induced a change of heart in the men in authority in England and had persuaded them to alter their earlier views. The resolutions passed by the conference held in Calcutta in 1920 hastened this change of heart. The initiative came from the then Viceroy of India, the Rt. Hon’ble Lord Chelmsford. He extended an invitation to Lord and Lady Baden-Powell to visit India on a goodwill mission. The Founder and the Chief Guide arrived in Bombay on the 28th January, 1921 and made an extensive tour in India, covering Bombay, Delhi, Allahabad, Jabalpur, Lucknow, Ranchi, and Madras. They met all those who had been working to build up Scouting in India against heavy odds. One of the objects of B. P.’s visit was to build up one national organisation for all the Scout Groups in India which had been formed by the different pioneer leaders in different parts of India. After protracted negotiations the Indian Scout Association headed by Dr. Annie Besant agreed to merge with Boy Scouts Association in India. This great decision was announced at a special Rally held in Madras. Dr. Besant was declared Hony. Scout Commissioner for India and was awarded Silver Wolf in recognition of her services to the Movement. The result, thus achieved in forging partial unity among S cout groups in India may be recorded as the second successful attempt to achieve his goal of a unified movement.
The amalgamation meeting was held on the 19th February, 1921 in Madras Govt. House which was presided over by B. P. himself. The following were present at this meeting:
Dr. (Mrs.) Annie Besant
Mr. F. Howard Oakby
Mr. A. J. Leech
Mr. F. G. Pearce
Mr. J. Vincent Mendis
Mr. V: K. Krishna Menon
Mr. I. Venkata Ramaya
Mr. Harold J.Wills
Mr. M. V. Vcnkateswaran
Mr. P. A. Subramaniam Ayyar
Mr. G, P. Aryanatha
Mr. V. S. Ratnasabhapathy
Mr. G. T. J. Thaddaeus
Rev. Geo Wilkins
Mr. C. P. Ramaswamy Ayyar
Mr. G. V. Subha Rao
Rev. R. C. Hutchinson
Mrs. A. Gathrie
Mr .S. K. Yegnanarayana Ayyar
Mr. C. V. Wrenn
Mr. T. V. Nilakantam
Mr. A. D. Pickford
It was agreed that:
1. The movement should be regarded as Private and non-official;
2. Control should be exercised by the association as Private. Organisation and not by Government or its officers as such:
3. The policy of the Association should be to develop a common loyalty to the Empire and to India in all boys, Anglo-Indians and Indians and as affecting Indians with due regard to Indian ideals and traditions by inculcating in them the desire for service to the motherland and thereby to the Empire, on the basis of Scout Promise and Law;
4. Administration should be on a provincial basis, keeping the desirability of fostering a sense of All- India unity;
5. In the interest of the unity and (so far as desirable) uniformity, the Provincial Organisations should be in touch with one another through the medium and with the assistance of such All-India Officers as may be decided upon;
6. It should be settled policy of the Association to extend the work, already partly undertaken to adopt the movement to the needs of India;
7. The Viceroy should be the Chief Scout for India as representative of the King from whom the Association would receive its Royal Charter of Incorporation;
8. The Governor of a Province might be appointed Provincial Chief Scout for the same reason ;
II : STORY OF INDIAN SCOUTING
9. The Chief Commissioner should be appointed by the ‘Imperial Headquarters’ ;
10. Headquarters Council for India as Central Council would be formed as a representative and Advisory body for all India. Its constitution was to be worked out by a special Sub-Committee to be set up ;
11. Provincial Councils should be constituted according to local conditions. Their general outlay should be laid down by the Sub-Committee proposed to be set up ;
12. There need be no objection to Officers of the Civil Service, Army, Railway, Police, etc., taking up work with the Boy Scouts so long as they do so in their private capacity;
13. There need be no objection to financial assistance being sought from Government when needed by a local council, provided that the acceptance does not involve control or direction by Government;
14. Politics under any pretext should be barred in the Scout Brotherhood;
15. All Scout Officers should be required to take the Scout Promise and to carry out and act according to the spirit underlying them in same way as the boys. Appointments of Officers should generally be for a period of one year renewable annually;
16. In relation to item No. 3 alone a Handbook of Scouting for Boys and a Wolf Cub Handbook should be compiled in the vernacular adapting scout training more clearly to Indian ideals.
Sd/- R. BADEN-POWELL ChairmanThe first visit of B. P. to India can thus be regarded in having paved the way to the foundation of Scout and Guide Movement in India. The Seva Samiti Scout Association, however, kept out of this merger, as they could not agree to the following Points.
(i) the form of the Promise;
(ii) the provision in the constitution providing for the appointment of the Provincial Governors as Ex-Officio Chief Scouts of the Provinces concerned.
With the amalgamation of the Indian Boy Scouts and the Official Scout Organisation in India, a new Chapter in the history of the Boy Scout Association was opened. As it has
been already mentioned, the first installment of political reforms, known is contemporary Indian history as Montford Reforms was intorduced in 1919. Lord Chelmsford, the then Vicerory of India had the vision to take several supporting steps to bring about progressive changes in official policy in several other spheres of activities. He had indeed proved to be a true friend of Scouting in India by inviting the Chief Scout to this country and thereby helping to remove the then prevailing misunderstanding, and to give Indian Scouting an official status in the world movement. In this respect, the dynamic leadership of Dr. Annie Besant will always be gratefully recorded by every Scout in Inida, but at the same time the services rendered by Sir Alfred Pickford in helping to eliminate a separate organization for European and Anglo-Indian Scouts and in getting all Scouts irrespective of race into one National Movement also deserves to be acknowledged and recognized.
The new status of the Indian Scout Movement gave a tremendous impetus to it. Sir Alfred Pickford was appointed the first Chief Commissioner. All the Provinces elected their Provincial Councils and their local and District Associations. The Rules and the Constitution in the form of P.O.R. was issued, and in 1921 ‘the policy of decentralisation and establishment of Provincial autonomy’ was accepted. The membership of the Movement went up steadily as will be seen from the statement given below:
1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1935 15,202 36,616 80,887 1,36,832 1,55,159 1,89,762 2,31,956 2,72,853
After the visit of the Chief Scout, both Sir Alfred Pickford and Col. Wilson went to England and underwent the Wood- Badge Course at Gilwell. They became the first Dy. Camp Chief (D. C. C.) in India.
As already mentioned the first Scout Masters’ Course in India under a D. C. C. was organized in Calcutta in 1922 and a second course was held in the following year. A similar course was conducted in Madras about the same time. It was also in 1923 that ‘Scouting for Boys in India’ was brought out for the benefit of Indian boys. In the Indian Edition, Indian stories and many other features conforming
STORY OF INDIAN SCOUTINGto Indian traditions were included. Even the National Song ‘Bande Mataram’ was included in the book.
The first Jamboree was held in 1920 in London. During his visit to India, the World Chief had invited the Indian Association to send a contingent to the next International Jamboree to be held in August, 1924 on the occasion of the Wembley Exhibition. Several parties from India as well as from among the Indians living in England participated in this Jamboree. V. K. Krishna Menon from the then Cochin State was among those who took part in this Jamboree. After attending this Jamboree, the party from Bombay participated in the International Jamboree at Copenhagen.
The welcome given to Indian parties to these Jamborees and their high standard of performance produced a deep impression on the Scout authorities in India, and created the climate and the urge for holding an Indian Jamboree. With the dynamic leadership of Sir C. P. Ramaswamy Ayyar, Provincial Commissioner, a Jamboree organized in Madras in 1926 Four thousand Scouts from Bombay, Banglore, Baluchistan, the Central Province, Cochin, Coorg, Hyderabad, Madras, Mysore, Kashmir, Travancore and Ceylon attended this first Indian meet. D.P. Joshi and Dr. M.N. Nafu were among those who went from Bombay to participate in it.
In 1927, the first All-India Scouters’ Conference was held at Delhi which was opened by Lord Irwin. At this conference it was decided that a National Headquarters should be opened in Delhi. A few years later, Col. Wilson who became the Camp Chief of Gilwell after his retirement in 1933, came to India in November, 1933 at the invitation of the Boy Scouts Association and stayed on till March, 1934. During this period he visited a number of Provinces and ran Wood Badge Courses at Pachmarhi and also attended the Second All-India Conference held in Delhi from 20 to 23 February, 1934. This conference was opened by the then Viceroy Lord Irwin, Col. Wilson submitted an exhaustive report containing his recommendations for the reorganisation of the general set up and arrangement for the training of Leaders. During his stay he also tried to bring in the Seva Samiti Scout Association and the Boy Scouts Association.
In 1935 the First Indian to be nominated as the Chief Commissioner of India was Nawab Mohammed Ahmed Said Khan of Chhattari, H. W. Hogg was appointed as Deputy Chief Commissioner. The General Headquarters of Nawab Md. Ahmed Said Khan
CAmE TRUEthe Boy Scouts Association in India was reorganized and Shri N. N. Bose, the Provincial Secretary of the Bengal Boy Scouts Association which he served faithfully from October, 1922 to February, 1935 was chosen to be the General Secretary of the All India body.
Nawab Sahib served the Boy Scouts Association in India as its Chief Commissioner for five years and helped to build up the Organisation.
The year 1937 was one of great significances in the development of Indian Scouting.
In order to meet in part the political demand of the people of India for self government under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, India was granted what was called ‘provincial autonomy’ in 1935. Under this scheme of reforms, almost in every province National Governments were formed. Most of the newly elected Education Ministers were in favour of forming a single National Scout Organisation. About this time, under the patronage of Shri Bhulabhai Desai and with the co-operation of Govt, of Bombay. Dr. B.H. Mehta organized a Scout Organisation called the National Scout Association.
Much confusion was created by different organisations seeking patronage and assistance from the different Provincial Governments. Besides, the existence of these various Scout Organisations and competitive loyalties to the Provincial Associations threatened to undermine the very basic concept underlying the Scout movement. It was felt that, in this situation B. P.’s visit to India might produce a sort of healing balm, and another serious attempt might be made to create a unified organisation for Indian Scouting.
The Boy Scouts of India planned to hold their first formal AllIndia Jamboree in Delhi early in 1937. An invitation was sent to the Founder and the Chief Guide to come out to India and inaugurate the Jamboree. B. P. with the Chief Guide and their elder daughter, Heather, sailed for India towards the end of 1936 and arrived in Bombay on the 28th January, 1937.
The Jamboree was held from the 1st to 7th January, 1937 but B. P. formally opened it on January 3. About four thousand Scouts from all over India assembled on the occasion, and joined in the march past, in their scout uniform, before the Viceroy and their Chief. B. P. was highly satisfied with the standard of Indian Scouting as displayed before him and wrote to the Chief Commissioner paying glowing tributes to scouts. The Jamboree was an undoubted success from every point of view.
II : STORY OF INDIAN SCOUTINGLord Baden Powell during his second visit to India at All India Jamboree, Delhi - 1937
After the Jamboree, B. P. paid brief visits to a few cities in the Northern India, including Peshawar, Lahore, Jaipur. While in these parts of India, he made it convenient to visit a number of Scout Troops in the adjoining rural areas. He spent his Eightieth birthday with his regiment, the 13/18th Hussar, which was stationed at that time in Risalpur, in the North-West Frontier Province of undivided India. B. P. and his family left India from Bombay on the 25th March, 1937. The success of the First All-India Jamboree at Delhi, his visit to the places where he had started his military career in his early youth and the warmhearted welcome which he received wherever he went filled B. P. with joy. Nevertheless, the spectacle of different Scouts Organisations in the country competing with one another for patronage from Government and the general public made him somewhat worried. In order to avoid any direct involvement in controversies, he left it to the Indians themselves to take the initiative and to bring about some sort of understanding among themselves. Unfortunately, anxious as he was to avoid public controversy, his remark before the English Press about the difficulty encountered in the development of Scouting in India provoked a countrywide uproar. On his return to England, in the first week of May, 1937, at a luncheon group of London journalists, B. P. recounted his experiences during his tour, and commented on the prospects of the movement in this part of the world. As India was an important centre of Scouting, he dealt at some length, at this conference, with
the problems of Indian Scouting and its growth and development. Reuter sent out a message on the 8th May publicising B. P.’s observations before these journalists. “India at present suffers”, he said, “from three main handicaps as a Nation-Lack of Character, Lack of Health and Lack of Unity. Scout training, however, aims at producing qualities which India now lacked”. This Reuter message was published prominently in all Indian papers in the big cities, within inverted commas. Besides, the manner in which the London papers chose to display B.P. ‘s talk under provocative titles like “Lack of character, health and unity handicap in India”, etc., made the situation created in India by this Press conference still worse. A wave of indignant protests from one end of India to another swept the country, in which members of the movement as well as the general public joined equally.
Today in 1968, similar observations in a foreign press would have hardly received much serious notice, but it was not so in 1937. The country was then engaged in a fight for national liberation, and in the midst of a bitter struggle with the ruling power, an apparently unwise statement from a member of the ruling nation, however great and illustrious he might have been, was enough to add fuel to the smouldering fire.
A number of friends, specially from among the official Boy Scouts Headquarters in India and abroad, tried to minimise the impact of B. P.’s observations, explaining away the reactions produced in the country, as being largely politically motivated and throwing the blame on the members of the Seva Samiti Scouts Association. After a lapse of more than thirty years, when one can view the situation objectively it would be safe to say that this was not a fair view to take. The official Headquarters of the Seva Samiti was as much anxious as any other body to correct the impact of the press reports. They knew that, unless public opinion was adequately mollified, they would not be able to exist as a Scout organisation. Unfortunately the Indian Headquarters of the Boy Scout Association were not prompt enough to correct the mis-representation in time. They kept silent unduly long, and tried to play down the prevailing feelings in the country. To make matters worse, serious official efforts were made to obtain a declaration from the adult leaders of the Association confirming their faith in and loyalty to the Founder. As a result of this unwise and undignified move, many of these leaders, who had earlier not given much credence to the reports, were taken aback, and as a protest
II : STORY OF INDIAN SCOUTINGresigned. Immediately after the press reports were transmitted to India from London, D. P. Joshi wrote to Col. Wilson in London requesting him to send a full report of B. P.’s speech, but the latter wrote back saying that he was not present at the Press conference. Dr. M. N. Natu of Poona sent a telegram to the Chief Commissioner, Nawab of Chhattari on the 8th May asking for an official statement on the report. Till the 22nd May no reply was sent. By that time the mischief had, however, been done.
The top leaders of the Boy Scouts Association of the Bombay Branch, E. G, Sir, Chunnilal V. Mehta, Sir Jamsedjee Jeejibhoy tried their best to counteract the adverse public opinion in the city, but could not improve the situation.
With strong, and active leadership and realistic appraisal of the situation, the incident might have been dealt with in a much better way. Be that as it might, it was a matter of no ‘small regret to the members’ of the movement that the illustrious Founder who was so much loved and admired had to suffer from much mental anguish at his old age. It was not given to him to revisit India and to see for himself how much the people still felt for him in this country. It was the duty of the Boy Scouts Association in India and the Seva Samiti Scout Association to take up the matter jointly and to convey to B. P,’s secretariat correctly the spontaneous feelings of the Indian public about the London Press report and to obtain from B. P. a brief direct statement saying that in his remarks he had not meant to cast any aspersion on India as a nation. If his remark had been misunderstood and caused pain to anybody in India, he was genuinely sorry.
There is no doubt that B. P. did not mean to stigmatise Indians as a nation. This was made clear in his letters to the Nawab of Chhattari on the 24th June, 1937, and to the Editor of the Sunday Statesman which was published in its issue of the 13th June, 1937 (both given as Appendix). All the same, the present writer considered it necessary in the History of Indian Scouting to record this unfortunate incident and the adverse repercussions it created in India, however unpleasant the facts might be.
The first Triennial Conference of the Boy Scouts Association in India was held on 16 and 17 November, 1937 under the Chairmanship of their Chief Commissioner, the Nawab of Chhattari, Two far reaching resolutions were adopted :
CAmE TRUE(1) “That the Boys Scouts Association in India be reconstituted as an independent national organization’ and an application be made to the International Bureau for affiliation as such; and
(2) “That the Provincial and State Associations should have autonomy except for the necessary control of a Council to be formed to coordinate scout activities in their area and standardize training.”
In this context the desire for a united National Organisation for scouts again gained a tremendous accession of strength. This time the Seva Samiti Scout Association took the initiative to achieve this end. The first Round Table Conference was convened by them at Allahabad on 28 and 29 November, 1937. The Boy Scouts Association accepted the invitation and was represented by the Nawab of Chhattari and G. T. J. Thaddacus, the General Secretary of the Association:
After prolonged deliberation, the Round Table Conference set up a Sub-committee to work out a formula for amalgamation which it suggested should be again discussed at the Second Round Table Conference The Subcommittee met on 15 and 16 March, 1938 and made the following recommendations :
“A 1. That we approve of the establishment of one Indian National Scout Organisation for the whole of India;
2. That every Provincial and State Organisations should be autonomous in Provincial and State matters, except for the necessary powers of a Central Council to co-ordinate their work and to ensure the observance of the constitution and the rules framed under it;
3. (a) The Association will be a non-official body and will depend on public and State support for carrying outfits aims and objects ;
(b) The Association will be a non-political, non-military, non-denominational and educative organisation.’ It should not identify itself with any religious sect., social class or political party;
(c) The Association should remain International in spirit and outlook and national in its methods of training.
B. Resolved that the name of the Association should be The ‘Scout Association of India’.
C. Resolved that the Scout Promise be: I promise on my honour that I will do my best
1. to do my duty to God, State and Country;
2. to help other people at all times;
3. to obey the Scout Law.
“Crown” or in Indian States “Maharaja” or the Ruler of the State may be used instead of State in the Promise as Provincial or State Associations may decide. For Buddhist Scouts the word ‘Religion’ can be used for ‘God’,
D. The Badge: Fleur-de-lis, with the three petalled lotus, the exact design to be adopted later on.
The Motto: ‘Be prepared’ by making oneself-
1. physically strong;
2. mentally awake; and
3. morally straight.
E. The Flag shall be 6 ft. by 4 ft. in size with the Scout emblem in yellow in the centre with dark green background.
F. Resolved that a Standing Committee be appointed consisting of the persons of the Conference Sub committee to draft a constitution and to carry on correspondence with the Headquarters of the different Scout Associations in the country with a view to the calling of another representative conference to adopt the new constitution not later than the Easter Holidays.”
The Second Round Table Conference was convened on 23 and 24 April, 1938 at Allahabad. The Chief Commissioner of the Boy Scouts Association could not agree to the recommendation of the Sub-committee with regard to (a) the Name-of the Organisation; (b) the Promise;
(c) the Badge; (d) the Flag. He sent round a private and confidential circular letter to all Provincial and State Headquarters urging them to send adequate representation to the proposed conference, so that he might receive the
necessary support for the point of view expressed by the Boy Scouts Association. These veiled directions from the Chief Commissioner to the Provincial Headquarters were not conducive to promote agreed solution for an honourable merger. In the end, the Second Round Table Conference only confirmed these apprehensions.
Following the breakdown of the second merger talks the two other organisations, namely, the Seva Samiti Scout Association and the Indian National Scout Association of Bombay merged and a new Organisation under the name of The Hindustan Scout Association was formed. It developed its own training schemes and established branches in other States with its Headquarters at Allahabad. Pandit H. N. Kunzru remained the Head of the Organisation but it did not receive affiliation to the International Scout Bureau.
Gandhiji gave his blessings to the Movement at a Rally organised by the Hindustan Scour Association at Wardha in 1938. In his message he said :
“I was particularly glad to note that the Khoja Boarding House at Wardha had sent its quota of Scouts to participate in your Rally. This is, as it should be. Boy Scouts’ training has been incorporated into the Wardha scheme of education. It would be nothing worth if it did not serve to remove all mutual distrust and suspicion and foster among various sections and communities a perfect spirit of camaraderie which is an integral part of that scheme, although it is not set down in so many words in the Zakir
Husain Committee’s Report. The Wardha Scheme of education does not aim merely at imparting literacy training to the students; the object is to give an education for life that would answer the needs of our millions. It is calculated to be a living and life-giving experiment. Teachers, who have in their turn to become torch-bearers of this education, have need, therefore, of a broader and wider training, and scout craft is an important and useful part of this training.”
In November 1938 the Boy Scouts Association received its affiliation with the Boy Scouts International Bureau and in 1940 the Association was registered in India under the Societies Registration Act (Act XXI of I860)
The year 1941 was a very sad year not only for the members of the movement but for all those in the world who were anxious to see that the younger generation were brought up on the basis of respect for the fundamental values of life. The movement as conceived and built up by the Founder Lord Robert Baden-Powell certainly laid the foundation for this growth. The sudden death of B. P. in Kenya was a grievous blow to the movement. In his passing away the world lost a great, dynamic and imaginative leader. After him there was nobody to take his place as the Chief Scout of the World.
The second Triennial Conference of the Boy Scouts Association was held in 1941 with the Nawab of Chhattari in the chair. In 1942 he was succeeded by the Rt. Hon’ble Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru as Chief Commissioner while Justice Vivian Bose succeeded Mr. H. W. Hogg, as Dy. Chief Commissioner. Sir Tej Bahadur and Vivian Bose made
Triennial Conference of the All India Boys Scouts Association - 28th Feb. - Ist March 1941 - Nawab of Chhattari, Chief Commissioner is seated 5th from Left.
a very good team and tried their best to bring about a thaw in the hardening attitudes between the two All-India Organisations, namely, the Hindustan Scout Association and the Boy Scouts Association in India. Much of the misunderstandings and misgivings were cleared up and the leaders of the two associations began more and more to turn their attention to the irksome problem of bringing the two bodies together without loss of face for either of them.
The third Triennial Conference was held in 1945 with Sir Tej Bahadur in the chair, but because of his failing health he could not attend the Fourth Triennial Conference held in 1948. This was presided over by his deputy Vivian Bose. Sir Tej Bahadur died on 21 January, 1949. Bose succeeded him as the Chief Commissioner of India. After the visit of the Cripps mission to India in 1942 it was apparent that a complete change in political order in India was in the offing. An interim Government was set up in Delhi in 1946 with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as Prime Minister. In the new climate of opinion in the country there was hardly any room for argumentation and it was appreciated by the two bodies that their mutual bickerings and suspicion must come to an end. In free India all must join and work together in all nation-building and constructive activities.
On 29 May, 1948 an informal meeting was convened in Delhi under the auspicies of the Ministry of Education. It was presided over by the then Education Minister, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. The main item on the agenda of the meeting was the consideration of steps to be taken for a merger of the two Scout Associations, viz. the Boy Scouts Association and Hindustan Scout Association.
Opening the discussions, the Chairman, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad stated that soon after he had assumed office he had realized the necessity of having one Scout Association for the whole of India. Whatever may have been the reasons for the existence of different
INDIAN Hon’ble Education Minister, Maulana Abul Kalam Azadorganisations in the past, there was no justification whatever for duplication of organisation in the new political set up of the country. The Chairman also said that he had discussions with the Governor General, Lord Mountbatten and that Mountbatten was not only anxious for unification of the two organisations but also had offered his active co-operation for bringing it about. He emphasized that the objectives of the two organisations were the same and, therefore, there was no reason why they should not unite. In conclusion he stressed that the scout organisations should be free from any taint of political or communal partisanship.
Following a long discussion, the representatives of both the Associations unanimously agreed that, subject to ratification by their respective national executives, there should be a merger of the two organisations which should be affiliated to the International Bureau and retain their nonpolitical and non-communal character.
The meeting further decided to set up a small committee with Dr. Tarachand, Secretary, Ministry of Education as Chairman and with Commander G. H. Nicholls, Deputy Private Secretary to the Governor General as a member to work out the details of the amalgamation. It was decided that this committee should meet on Wednesday 2 June, 1948.
Accordingly a meeting was held on 2 June at 4 P.M. in the conference room of the Ministry of Education, New Delhi with Dr. Tarachand in the chair and with the representatives of the two Scout organisations and Commander Nicholls. After the principle of amalgamation of the two organisations had been accepted, it was agreed that:
I. The new organisation be called Hind Scouts and that it should have a constitution on the following lines :
(a) General Council: It will elect office-bearers every year, make rules and regulations and guide the general policy of the organisation,
(b) Executive Committee: It will be a small body to carry out the policy of the General Council and will be responsible for the efficient working of the affairs of the organisation.
(c) (i) An officer to be appointed as President or Honorary President of the Council. He will be the Head of the Organisation and will confer honours, titles, etc.
(ii) One Chief Commissioner or National Chief Commissioner;
(iii) Deputy Chief Commissioner (one or more);
(iv) An officer-in-charge of Training;
(v) A Treasurer;
(vi) One National Organizing Commissioner;
(vii) One General Secretary of the Headquarters and one or more Asstt. Secretaries.
The aims and objects as laid down in the Memoranda of Association of both the bodies with slight changes were accepted. The Scout Law and Promise were also accepted.
It was agreed that a committee consisting of the following be formed to draft the constitution of the merged organisation:
Mr. G. T. J. Thaddacus: } Boy Scouts Association
Mr. P. K. Menon:
Dr. M. N. Natu: } Hindustan Scout.
Mr. S. R. Bajpai: Association
This committee was to meet at 9-30 a.m. on the 3rd June, 1948 and was to present the draft constitution to the Chairman at 2-30 P. M. on the same day.
In view of the fact that the Boy Scouts Association was bringing along with them the Girl Guides Association, the Drafting Committee was asked to frame the new constitution in such a way as to leave the door open for the Girl Guides Association to come in.
It was agreed that the merged Organisation should be affiliated to the International Bureau. The present D.C.Cs. were to continue side by side for a period of three years but they would not hold their warrants from outside India. The two systems of training would continue side by side for a period of three years and scouters would be permitted to choose during that period whichever system they might like to adopt. The Badge of the Hind Scouts will be Fleur-delis with Dharm Chakra, the actual design being left to the artist.
It was decided that the properties of the two bodies should vest in a Trust to be created by the new body in due course and that the
INDIANtwo existing organisations would take necessary steps in this regard. It was resolved that the existing paid staff of the two Associations would continue on their existing terms for a period of three years.
The following time table was drawn up for the establishment of the new organisation : The Boy Scouts Association to call its Triennial Conference on 28 and 29 August, 1948; the Hindustan Scout Association to call its National Council in July, 1948; and the two Associations to pass resolutions at the above meetings conveying their agreement to merger and to nominate a person each to form the united association with the authority to sign and send the Memorandum of Associations to the Registrar, Joint Stock Companies by 15 September, 1948.
The Drafting Committee would provide for an interim organisation to carry on the work of the Hind Scouts pending the setting up of the General Council and the Executive Committee in accordance with the rules and regulations of the new organisation. It was further decided that the new organisation would come into being with effect from 1 October, 1948.
The above small committee met on the following morning at the Headquarters of the Boy Scouts Association, Regal Building, New Delhi. Vivian Bose, Chief Commissioner, Boy Scouts Association also participated in the discussion. The Committee agreed that the first Headquarters Council (working committee) of the amalgamated association will consist of Ex-Officeo;
1. Pandit H. N. Kunzru, Chief Commissioner,
2. Vivian Bose, Dy. Chief Commissioner,
3. Shri S. R. Bajpai, National Organizing Commissioner,
4. Mr. G. T. J. Thaddacus, General Secretary,
5. Smt. H. C. Captain, Girl Guides Association,
6. Nine members elected by the Boy Scouts Association,
7. Nine members elected by the Hindustan Scout Association.
The Committee also agreed that this body would function as its Executive Committee from the date of the formation of the amalgamated body and would continue as such till the end of March, 1949. or until the new working committee was elected according to the constitution, whichever was later.
Similar provision was decided on for the working of the Provincial or State Scout Associations which would function till 31 March, 1949.
As regards the Provinces or the States where the two associations were functioning, it was decided that the person with largest period of service in the post will be the Commissioner and where two persons had equal periods of service in the past, he who had the longest period of Scout service to his credit was to be the Commissioner.
Regarding the decision to retain the paid staff of both the central associations for a period of three years, the necessary amount of money be kept in trust for guaranteeing the payment of salaries and allowances if their services were terminated before the end of three years. Provinces and States were also advised to make similar provisions for their employees. If the services of any of the employee were to be terminated for inefficiency or misbehaviour or insubordination, the aggrieved person should have the right to appeal to a Panchayat of five persons with two persons each nominated by the Boy Scouts Association and the Hindustan Scout Association and one independent Chairman selected by the above four. The Panchayat would continue functioning for the first three years.
In view of the services rendered by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru in the cause of Scouting, the honorary rank of Chief Commissioner would be conferred on him for life.
As it was felt that the drafting of the Memorandum and the Articles of Association required more careful thought and work and consultation with a solicitor, it was decided that the work should be continued during the third week of June, 1948.
The two Associations arranged to convene their supreme bodies in August, 1948 to consider the draft agreement as arrived at in May and June as mentioned above. The main hurdle which faced the two associations in obtaining acceptance of the conditions arrived at was in respect of maintaining the two systems of training side by side for the interim period, and the bringing in the All-India Girl Guides Association in the merged organisation. Moreover, many members of the Boy Scouts Association did not approve of the suggested name of Hind Scouts for the united association.
The Hindustan Scouts Association held the emergency meeting of their National Council on 22 August, 1948 at Delhi.
They objected to the provisions in the draft agreement for the merger in respect of training and the guarantee to the existing staff of the right to be retained in service for three years and to the payment of their salaries. They, however, elected the following to represent them at the informal conference which was to be held at Nagpur on 30 August, 1948 : Pandit H. N. Kunzru, M. N. Natu, Shrimati Kusum Sayani, Madan Mohan, R. K. Sidhwa.
The Council also elected the following to serve on the Working Committee for the interim period: Shrimati R. Gharpurey, Shrimati Prabha Banerjee, R. K. Sidhwa, Madan Mohan, M. V. Donde. Vir Deva Vir, Kanayajee and Ramanand.
Further, the Council authorised the following to sign the application for registration of the merged association, viz., the Hind Scouts: Pandit H. N. Kunzru, Shri Ram Bajpai, Lala Hansraj Gupta and Madan Mohan.
The Boy Scouts Association held their fourth Triennial Conference on 30 August, 1948 at Nagpur. As the Chief Commissioner Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru was unwell, the Deputy Chief Commissioner Vivian Bose presided over the meeting, The main business of the conference consisted of discussions on the proposed merger. As already mentioned, the representatives from the provincial councils expressed their deep anxiety about the future of Scout training and also of the old members of the staff who had served the organisation loyally for so many years. Unfortunately a lot of uncertainty had been created by the over zealous articles written and statements made by some of the leaders of the Hindustan Scout Association. Bose, however, guided the deliberations very wisely and succeeded in persuading that the merger was in the best interests of future generations and should be given a fair trial. Pandit Kunzru, Bajpai and a few of the leaders of the Hindustan Scout Association met the members of the conference at an informal meeting with Shri Mangaldas Pakvasa, the then Governor of Central Province (Present Madhya Pradesh)
Shri Mangaldas PakvasaOn the passing away of Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru on 21 January, 1949, Bose was appointed Chief Commissioner, and the heavy
burden of negotiating the merger and carrying all the members with him fell on his shoulder. One was amazed at his deep faith in the movement, his love for the country and his sincerity of purpose. It is needless to say, but for Vivian Bose the process of merger would not have been so smooth and quick.
A small Merger Committee was formed to work out the broad principles and other arrangements, consisting of Pandit H. N. Kunzru (Hindustan Scout Association), Vivian Bose (Boy Scouts Association) and Dr. Tara Chand (Secretary, Ministry of Education).
It was also decided that Smt. H. C. Captain (Chief Commissioner, Girl Guides Association) would be invited to join the committee if the Girl Guides Association so desired.
The first meeting of the Merger Committee was held in Delhi on 9 May, 1949, at 4 P. M. at Rashtrapati Bhavan (President’s Official Residence). The Draft constitution of the merged organisation Hind Scouts and Guides (Now that the Girl Guides Association was considering their joining the new organisation the name Hind Scouts was changed to Hind Scouts and Guides) was considered. Besides, important decisions with regard to the Promise, APRO (Aims, Policy, Rules and Organisation), the design and the colour of the flag were taken. It was also resolved that the following office bearers (honorary and salaried) should be appointed for the interim period of three years: National Commissioner Pandit H. N. Kunzru, Chief Commissioner (Scouts) Vivian Bose, Chief Commissioner (Guides) Smt. H. C. Captain, National Organizing Commissioner Shri Ram Bajpai, Joint Organizing Commissioner G. T. J. Thaddacus. Miss Tehmi Asha, Smt. C. Mohini and Mr. I. S. Verma, Honorary Secretary.
Bose informed the Committee that an application had been made to the court by his Association for setting apart a sum of Rupees one lakh and eighty thousand to ensure payment of emoluments for a period of three years.
The second meeting of the Merger Committee was held on 22 and 23 October, 1949 at Nagpur with all the members including Smt. H, C. Captain. The wording of the Promise was finalised at this meeting. It was decided that the Interim Committee was to consist of six from the Hindustan Scout Association, six from the Boy Scouts Association and six Guides to be jointly chosen by Pandit Kunzru and Smt. Captain. The eight officers in accordance with an agreed list
adopted at the meeting held on 9 May were to be included among the eighteen members of the Interim Committee. The Committee was to be responsible for the management of merged body for three years till the new Executive Committee and the new National Council were elected. A Trust Committee consisting of Pandit Kunzru, Bose and Smt. Captain was formed to hold all movable and; immovable properties belonging to the three associations. It was also agreed that a sum of Rupees one lakh and eighty thousand should be set apart for meeting the salary and emoluments of the paid staff of the Headquarters and should be held by the Trust Committee and not allowed to remain in the custody of the Council.
The third meeting of the Merger Committee was held on 26 December, 1949 at Government House, Nagpur, and attended by Pakvasa, Bose and Dr. Tara Chand. The most important decision at this meeting was that the fund held by the Guide Trust should be used only for Guide work.
The question of the type of training to be adopted and other conventions which were borrowed from the International Training Centre were accepted by all the member countries of the International Bureau of Boy Scouts created a great deal of resentment and suspicion among the veteran leaders of the Boy Scouts Association. Unlike the Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, the member countries of the International Bureau of Boy Scouts acknowledged Gilwell Park as the Centre of their training; the pattern of training was the same as laid down by Gilwell; Honourable Charge for. D. C. Cs. were also issued by the Camp Chief of Gilwell on the recommendation of the Camp Chiefs of the different countries. Besides, all the D. C. Cs. wore the same kind of badge, scarf and beads and woggle. It must be admitted that both the Directors of the World Bureaus and the Camp Chief of Gilwell displayed considerable tact and wisdom and adopted a flexible attitude towards the points and thus made it easy for the Indian Associations to merge and work together. In a reply to a letter from Commander K. B. Godrej, No. 5318, dated 28 October, 1948, the then Director of the World Bureau, Col. J. S. Wilson, dated 5 November, 1948 wrote to say:
“Para six requires a reply so far as the modifications for wood badge training are concerned. I say at once that I see no reason to object to these since a certain amount of latitude must be allowed in order to meet conditions and prejudices, however hypothetical the latter may be.
DREAm CAmE TRUEI give the following specific answers to the various points raised by you
There is no objection to the use of the term ‘Himalayan’ Wood Badge. I am glad to hear that the Gilwell scarf and woggle have been adopted without any modification or change. 1 naturally regret the desire and decision to alter the wood badge beads as such, since by doing so India departs from the insignia which is internationally recognised and approved. However, this departure does not affect the training as such in any way, nor does it affect the holders of the Wood Badge, and substitute a blue cord for the leather thong that is solely their concern. I note with pleasure, however, that as is usually the case, those scouters who already hold the wood badge will be permitted to retain the beads originally granted to them.
I have a feeling that, in the course of time, the movement in India will itself wish to do away with the difference now suggested.”
Col. Wilson was right in his assessment of the situation. In 1959 the Bharat Scouts and Guides accepted the wood badge training of Gilwell. They also adopted the pattern of beads though made locally and changed the colour of the cord to black. The universal pattern of leather thong has not yet been accepted, may be, in consideration of keeping the cost of thong reasonable. At a meeting of the Headquarters Council held on 12 February, 1950 at Nagpur, with Bose in the chair, it was resolved that the Fifth Triennial Conference of the Boy Scouts Association should be held on 16 April, 1950 at Nagpur to consider whether there should be any amalgamation or not, and to summon the second meeting of the Conference to confirm the proceedings of the first on May 12,1950. It was not a smooth sailing for Bose to get the resolution processed through the two conferences as there was a section of old scout leaders who did not like some of the provisions of the merger agreement. But Bose had the loyal support of a number of other leaders, viz., Sardar Har Dial Singh, Shri Saroj Ghosh, Dr. M. N. Zutshi, Shri Shyam Sundar Sharma and Shri Hidayatullah. The resolution was successfully passed by the two consecutive conferences. The application for transfer of funds belonging to the Boy Scouts Association came up before the court on 6 October, 1950 and the merger was effected on 7 November, 1950. The Girl Guides Association did not come in as they were n ot satisfied with the result of the negotiations in respect of the direction of
their General Council held in Lucknow on 23-25 February, 1950, viz.,
“The General Council of the Girl Guides Association, India agrees to the proposed merger with the Hindustan Scout Association and with a view to give equal opportunities and suitable training to the girls, unanimously resolves to merge provided that.
1. The administration and training of the girls be in the hands of women both at the Centre and in the States with a woman
National Organizing Commissioner working under a woman Chief Commissioner. The former shall be responsible to the National Commissioner only through the woman Chief Commissioner.
2. A woman be eligible for the office of the National Commissioner.”
The news of the agreement for merger of the scout associations reached London. Lord Mountbatten was then holding the high position of the Fourth Sea Lord of the British Admiralty and in a letter to Bose on 24 October, 1950 he said :
“As you know I fully recognised in 1948 the necessity for this Merger in the new independent India, and I then offered my active co-operation to the Minister of Education to bring this about. The Boy Scouts Association in India has for 40 years done magnificent work in India in all civic fields, and as Ex-Chief Scout of the organisation and as Commodore of the Sea Scouts of Great Britain I congratulate all of you on the grand work you have done.
I am sure that this good work will continue in the New India in the wider sphere of endeavour which will result from the merger, and I wish you all very good fortune in the future.”
Office Bearers of Interim Council of Bharat Scouts and Guides with Dr. Tarachand, Education Secretary - 1950
At the time of the registration of the merged association the proposed name of the new body was changed from Hind Scouts and Guides to B HARAT S COUTS AND G UIDES . The name Hind was objected to by several members of the Boy Scouts Association as it appeared to be too close to the name of one of the two constituent bodies. Besides, the old name might appear to others that the organisation was controlled by the majority Hindu community. For all these reasons, the name Indian Scouts and Guides was suggested, but again it was thought that this name might appear closer to the name of the other merged associations.
In the Constitution of India the name Bharat as an alternative name of India had been accepted. So it was agreed that the merged organisation would be registered under the name ‘The Bharat Scouts and Guides. I wish the name India had been retained, for in International gatherings it is difficult to make other countries understand that the Bharat Scouts and Guides is the National Movement of India. No appreciable benefit has been gained by changing India for Bharat.
Immediately after the Triennial Conference of Boy Scouts Association held on 28 and 29 August, 1948 at Nagpur, a meeting was convened by Shri Mangaldas Pakvasa, the Governor of C. P. on 31 of August The following attended the meeting:
1. Commander K. B. Godrej
2. G. T. J. Thaddacus Representatives of the
3. Dan Mai Mathur Boy Scouts Association
4. Ram Swaroop Dhiman
5. H. N. Kunzru
6. S. R. Bajpai
7. R. K. Sidhwa
8. Kusum Sayani.
9. Madan Mohan Representatives of the
10. M. N. Natu Hindustan Scout
11. K. G. Vaidyanathan Association
12. Shrujat
13. D. P. Joshi
II : STORY OF INDIAN SCOUTING
At this meeting far reaching decisions were considered appropriate action for effecting smooth merger according to the agreement arrived at earlier.
Meanwhile the negotiations with the Girl Guide Association were carried on. As a result of the relentless efforts of the Chairman of the merger committee and the gentlemen’s assurance given by Pandit H. N. Kunzru the then National Commissioner of the Bharat Scouts and Guides, the Girl Guide Association finally merged with the Bharat Scouts and Guides on 15 August, 1951
As agreed upon, the work of the Organisation for the interim period of three years from 7 November, 1950 to the end of October, 1953 was carried on by an Interim Committee. During this period the Expert Committee which had been appointed by the Merger Committee drafted the detailed rules and regulations for the conduct of the business of the Association in regard to its Aims, Policy, Rules and Organisation, generally known as A. P. R. O. The work of the Committee was carried out by the same Sub-committee which had been appointed on 2 June, 1948 to draft the Constitution of the combined association. Now that the All India Girl Guides Association ‘agreed to merge with the new Organisation, the following additional members were coopted in the Committee :
Representing the All-India Girl miss T. P. Asha Guides Association
miss S. B. Rustomjee }
Smt. C. mohini
Representing the Guide Section of the Hindustan Scout Association
The first meeting of the National Council of Bharat Scouts and Guides was held in Delhi on 31 October and 1 November. 1953. Shri Mangaldas Pakvasa was elected as the first President of the new Association. The other office bearers who worked during the interim period were elected as the office bearers of the newly constituted body. As no settlement could be arrived on future policy about scout training at the time of merger, no official Camp Chief was appointed. Later on, however, with the agreement of the persons concerned, Sardar Har Dial Singh was appointed the first Camp Chief for India on March 27,1954 and continued to hold this position till April, 1957.
The work of the interim period suffered to some extent because of mutual suspicions and mental reservations, but such teething troubles were gradually overcome by wise and skilful guidance, and leadership at the top. In this respect two names should be particularly mentioned. The contributions of these two leaders helped to iron out many misunderstandings in the initial period. At the risk of losing his popularity among the members of his old association, Vivian Bose gave his whole-hearted support to Pandit H. N. Kunzru in working out the details of the administration and future policy. But for his sincere love for the movement, the efforts at creating a united national organistion would have ended in smoke. At the same time Shri Mangaldas Pakvasa worked as a peace maker and helped to bring about an amicable understanding between the new establishment and the old guards of the Guide Section. Unfortunately, however, a few of the members of the Boy Scouts Association mostly belonging to the Delhi State left the new Association in 1952 and formed another organisation called the AllIndia Boy Scouts Association. They sought the co-operation of the Nawab of Chhattari and appointed him as the Chief Scout of India for their newly formed organisation.
The Scout/Guide Movement is for the welfare of our boys and girls. Separatist ideas, whatever may be the provocation for them, are alien to the spirit of Scouting. When after many decades, some basis for working together had been found, it was the duty of every scout and guide to give the leaders of the movement full support and a fair chance to forge and fashion a strong national movement. The writer does not propose to go into the details of the misunderstanding which led to the formation of the new body so soon after the merger but share the hope of the leaders of the Bharat Scouts and Guides that our dissident friends will come back to the National Movement, and add further strength to the Bharat Scouts and Guides which has already emerged as a strong national association for India with about a million members, based on strictly non-political and non-sectarian principles and enjoying widespread public support and confidence. The Bharat Scouts and Guides is the only organisation which is recognised by the Government of India and the State Governments. It is also the only organisation which is affiliated to and recognised by the World bodies, viz., the World Association of Boy Scouts and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. Although the All-India Boy Scouts Association was not recognised by the World
Association of Boy Scouts, they started contacting the National Associations of different countries on their own and thus created a great deal of confusion.
In order to deal with this unhappy situation the Director of the World Bureau of the World Association of Boy Scouts, Major General D. C. Spry, sent round a general circular letter to the National Associations of its member countries explaining the relation between the Bharat Scouts and Guides and the World Bureau and also its stand in respect of the inter group, viz., the All-India Boy Scouts Association. The copy of this Circular is as follows:
15 October 1956
Circular No. 25 of 1956 132, Ebury Street, WESTMINISTER, LONDON, S.W. I.
My dear Colleague,
1. Following the independence of India in 1947 it was agreed by all the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides Organisations then in existence to merge and form a single National Scout and Guide Movement. In 1950 the merger was ratified by all parties and the Bharat Scouts and Guides became the sole organisation for Scouting and Guiding. It was registered under the Societies Registration Act and continues to be the sole organisation for Scouting and Guiding which holds the approval of the Central and State Governments of India. In December 1950 the International recognition of our former member Association was transferred by the International Conference to the Scout section of the Bharat Scouts and Guides (Our Circular No. 40 of 1950 refers).
2. In 1952 a few people broke away from this National Movement and have since set up a dissident Scout Organisation, the All-India Boy Scouts Association, with its Headquarters at 7, Jangpura ‘B’, Mathura Road, New- Delhi. This Body is not ‘Internationally’ recognised nor affiliated in any way to our member organisation in India, the Bharat Scouts and Guides. It is not recognised by the Central or State Governments. The dissident body is known to be sending correspondence and magazines to other countries and to be soliciting messages.
3. You are therefore asked :
(a) Not to carry on correspondence with the All-India Association:
(b) In cases of doubt please refer back any requests you may receive from India to the National Headquarters of the Bharat Scouts and Guides (Resolution 16/51);
(c) If any Scout from India visits your Association please insist that he produces the standard form of International Letter of Introduction—(Resolution 17/47).
4. We must also make it plain that neither Gilwell Park nor the International Bureau recognise Mr. A. S. Virlley as a member of the International Gilwell Training Team nor can any training course certificates issued by him, or by any other member of the All-India B. S. A. previously appointed by Gilwell, be accepted as valid by any other Association or us— (Resolution 7/55).
The first big official event held after the merger on an All-India basis was the Scouters’ and Guiders’ conference held in October 1952. This Conference was attended by the World Directors, Dame Leslie, G. Whateley and Col. J. S. Wilson. The Conference was opened by the then President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad on 27 October 1952 and was held at the Camp Site near Humayun’s Tomb, New Delhi. The Conference was addressed by the late Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on 29 October. The Conference was a great success. Shri Ram Bajpai worked relentlessly to make the conference a success.
BOY SCOUTS INTERNATIONAL
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister addressing the Scoutmasters and Guiders at the Conference in New Delhi - 1952
The Scout and Guide movement stands out from other youth welfare programmes because of its very well thought out training schemes. The merger was brought about on the understanding that the systems of training devised by the Boy Scouts of India and the Hindustan Scout Association would remain in force till a unified system of training had been worked out to the satisfaction of all concerned. The training conference of the D. C. Cs was held at the. Punjab State Training Centre at Taradevi, Shimla from 27 May to 3 June 1952.
The second meeting was held at Pachmarhi from 26 December to 31 December 1954. Both the conferences were sponsored by the then Chief Commissioner (Scouts) Vivian Bose who took great pains to make them a success. A draft scheme of training was prepared and a major decision was taken to recommend to the National Executive Committee to take suitable steps for the establishment of a National Training Centre. An ad hoc committee with Pandit H. N. Kunzru, the then National Commissioner as Chairman was formed for exploring a suitable site for this purpose. Both Pandit Kunzru and Bose worked relentlessly and negotiated for a big area of about 55 acres at Pachmarhi for setting up the Training Centre.
The Bharat Scouts and Guides will remain ever grateful to the then Governor of Madhya Pradesh Shri Mangaldas Pakvasa and to the late Pandit Rabi Shankar Sukla, the then Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh for their help and cooperation in obtaining this area as a gift to them and also for a handsome donation of Rs. 45,000/- from the Kirorimal Trust towards setting up an administrative block on this site. The Girl Guide Association had with them a sum of Rs. 68,000/- for a training centre for their own organisation. They had raised this sum in the name of the
Founder after his death, and had decided to dedicate a building to be constructed out of this fund after the Founder’s name. After the merger, the Trustees of the Girl Guides fund decided that the B. P. Memorial House should be built at the Common Training Centre at Pachmarhi. In due course, the amount was handed over to the Bharat Scouts and Guides with the request that the building constructed out of this fund should be named as B. P. Memorial Guide Bhawan. The Trustees of the Girl Guide Association also agreed that this house would remain open also for the use of the Scout Section but understandably the Guide Section would receive preference for accommodation.
The foundation stone of the B. P. Memorial Guide Bhawan and other ancillary structures were laid by the then President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad on 10 September 1956.
The Master Plan of the Training Centre was prepared by Mr. Polk, an eminent American architect and a friend of the Boses. The detailed plan and execution of the project was subsequently entrusted to an architect firm M/s Master Sathe and Kothari & Sons. The cost of the
Note: On 10th September 1956, the Foundation Stone for B.P. Memorial Guide Bhawan was laid by the First President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad. That day is remembered and celebrated as Pachmarhi Day every year
project was estimated at about five lakh Rupees. The Government of India very generously agreed to contribute 75% of the estimated cost, provided the Bharat Scouts and Guides raised the balance of 25 %. At the recommendation of the then National Commissioner, Pandit H. N. Kunzru, it was decided that the construction work would be executed departmentally. In the meantime the part-time Hony. Camp Chief Sardar Har Dial Singh was replaced by a wholetime Camp Chief J. I. Muthiah from 18 April 1957. T. V. Nilakantam was appointed as Camp Chief (S) in November, 1961 and he served in this capacity till the end of October, 1965. He was succeeded as Camp Chief (Scouts) by Lt. Col. V. K. Sundaram M. C. I. M. S., on 1st November 1965. He was posted at Pachmarhi to look after the property acquired by the Bharat Scouts and Guides for the National Training Centre, and also to run training camps according to the
scheduled programme. For various reasons the construction work at Pachmarhi could not be carried out very smoothly and it was only in 1961 the three major blocks, viz., the Guide Bhawan, the Administrative Block and the Multipurpose Hall were constructed. Lady Baden Powell, the World Chief Guide visited India at the invitation of the Bharat Scouts and Guides towards the end of 1960. On 22nd February 1961 before a gathering of top scout and guide leaders from all over India she opened the B. P. Memorial Guide Bhawan and the other buildings at this centre. The establishment of a National Training Centre will remain a landmark in the history of Scouting and Guiding signifying the maturity of the Movement and its continuing progress towards self-sufficiency.
Through the wise and bold leadership of Vivian Bose in 1958, while he was the National Commissioner of the Bharat Scouts and Guides, the National Executive Committee accepted the Gilwell Training Scheme as the basis of the future Training Policy. It has been
T.V. Nilakantam
Lt. Col. V.K. Sundaram
J.I. Muthiah
B.P. Memorial Guide House opened by Lady Olave Baden Powell on 22nd Febaruary, 1961
Lady B.P. Opening the B.P. Guide House at Pachamrhi
SCOUTS INTERNATIONAL
already mentioned earlier that, unlike the Guide Section all national associations of the Scouts in different member countries of the World Association of Boy Scouts had accepted the Gilwell Training Scheme as the basis of their training methods and policies. The member countries, however, were free to adopt their own programmes and test work according to their traditions and culture. India would have remained away from the general stream of scout training if she had not accepted what all other countries of the world had done. This mature decision and the establishment of the National Training Centre at Pachmarhi helped the Bharat Scouts and Guides to become one of the leading Scout Organisations in the world.
The Bharat Scouts and Guides have taken their rightful place in the International World of Scouting. The Boy Scouts Association established their reputation at the world level by their participation in the World Conferences and Jamborees. Although the Hindustan Scout Association was not a member of the World Association of Boy Scouts, many of the top leaders, such as, S. R. Bajpai, Mohan Singh Mehta, D. P. Joshi and others had received their training at Gilwell. Above all, the reputation of their selfless noble National Commissioner Pandit H. N. Kunzru gave the organisation additional weightage nationally and internationally. Besides, Vivian Bose was elected as a member of the World Committee in September, 1947 in his personal capacity and served the committee till August, 1949. This was the first time that an Indian had the honour of holding a high office in the International Scouts’ World. Moreover, the visit of two successive serving World Directors Col. J. S. Wilson in 1952 and his successor Major General D. C. Spry in 1950 helped the newly merged Bharat Scouts and Guides to establish closer relation with the World Bureau.
The Sixteenth World Conference held in England accepted the invitation of the Bharat Scouts and Guides to hold their Seventeenth World Conference in India in 1959. This was the first time that a World Conference was to be held in Asia. The Bharat Scouts and Guides knew the magnitude of the responsibility they had accepted. The prestige of Asia was involved as much as this was the first time that a world gathering was to be held in this part of the World, and many had their doubts about the capacity of the Bharat Scouts and Guides to organize it successfully.
The National Executive entrusted the responsibility for organizing this conference to a small “Organizing Committee”
CAmE TRUEpresided over by a woman Commissioner, Lakshmi Mazumdar Many eyebrows were raised at a woman being in charge of this work for men. It was no small measure of pride to the Bharat Scouts and Guides that the arrangements and organisation for the conference were perfect. A large number of delegates from all over the world
17th International Scout Conference, Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi-July 1959
came to participate in the conference which was opened by the then Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on the 29th July. 1959 in the main hall of the Vigyan Bhawan before a large gathering of the elites of the capital.
He made one of his most brilliant and thought provoking speeches which is still remembered and freely quoted in the member countries of the world. Lakshmi Mazumdar worked relentlessly to discharge her great responsibility. Much of her success depended on the trust and confidence which was extended to her by the then National Commissioner Vivian Bose. She was given a free hand to seek help and co-operation from everybody concerned and there was no interference from the establishment in her day to day work. The successful organisation of World Conference in India achieved two valuable results, namely, The international recognition of the capacity and standard of Indian Scouting and secondly the acknowledgement of the success of a joint Movement. The perfect co-operation between the scout and guide sections and the interdependence of the two on equal terms showed to the world the measures of benefit which could be achieved by bringing the two sections of the movement closer to each other.
Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, Prime Minister of India inaugurating the 17th International Scout Conference at Vigyan Bhawan - 29th July 1959While Pandit H. N. Kunzru was the National Commissioner he had negotiated for a plot of land in Delhi for the construction of the National Headquarters Building for the Bharat Scouts and Guides. After the merger the new associations continued to occupy the old Headquarters Building located in a small threeroomed flat on Parliament Street which was wholly inadequate for the increasing work of the two sections. There was not a single room in it which was large enough to accommodate the National Executive Committee in full session. For the meetings of the National Council, special adhoc arrangements had to be made in other places. Besides, there was no place where a visiting Commissioner or any other member of the Organisation coming from other States could be offered some accommodation. Through the good offices of the then Ministry of Works and Housing, a piece of land measuring half an acre was allotted to the Bharat Scouts and Guides. Unfortunately for want of funds this plot could not be taken possession of and at the session of National Council meeting held in Madras in 1957, it was reported that the allotment letter would be withdrawn by Government if the price for the piece of land was not deposited with Government within six months. Lakshmi Menon, a co-opted member of the Council spoke very forcefully at the meeting and urged the State Associations to contribute at least one thousand each for this purpose so that the land might be acquired by the Bharat Scouts and Guides. A small committee was formed, with Smt. Menon as Chairman, to collect funds for the Headquarters. Through her effort seventeen States paid their promised quota which enabled the National Headquarters to purchase the land from Government. But the construction programme of the Headquarters could not advance further as there was hardly any attempt of raising funds from the public. The Government of India was prepared to sanction an adequate grant-in-aid for the construction of a suitable headquarters building on condition that the association raised a sizeable matching sum. The National Executive in their session appointed two sub-committees, one for raising of funds and the other for the Building construction. Lakshmi Mazumdar was invited to be the Chairman of both these Committees.
On 12 November, 1960, Dr. S. Radhakrishna the then VicePresident of India laid the foundation stone of the building. Lakshmi Mazumdar visited all the big cities of India at her own expenses to
collect funds from business houses, trusts and the general public. She also succeeded in enlisting the interest in the members of the State Associations who offered her their wholehearted co-operation in her funds drive. With the generous help from Government and the contributions received from the general public in cash and kind
the dream of building a national home for the Scouts and Guides came true. The building was constructed within the record time of eleven months and was formally opened by Dr. Zakir Husain, the then Vice President of India on 31 January, 1963.
The establishment of a National Training Centre at Pachmarhi was the first step for the onward progress of the Bharat Scouts and
Shri Madan Mohan, Chief Commissioner (Scouts) receiving Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, the Vice-President of India and the Patron of BS&G on 12th November, 1960, when he came to lay the foundation stone of the National Headquarters Building
The Opening of the National Headquarters BS&G by Dr. Zakir Husain the then Vice president of India on 31st Jaunary, 1963
Guides. The construction of a National Headquarters Building was a further step forward. A National home with modern physical facilities gave the Bharat Scouts and Guides a status in the eyes of general public in India and abroad. Besides, it removed a long felt want of the Bharat Scouts and Guides, and provided the Association with the essential facilities needed for running a National Organisation with International affiliation.
Another significant step was taken in the year which would remain a landmark in the history of the Indian Movement in the post-merger period. The Bharat Scouts and Guides was formed with the merger of the Scout and Guide Associations in India under the auspices of the Ministry of. Education, Government of India. Naturally they received the unqualified recognition of the Government of India and the State Governments. But the Organisation never sought any direct official link with the Head of the State. The First President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad blessed
the organisation by his presence at the All-India Conference of Scouts and Guides held in Delhi in October, 1951. Again he came all the way to Pachmarhi to lay the foundation stone of the National Training Centre on the 10th September, 1956.
Besides, he received the members of the International and National gatherings on many occasions at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. At the request of the National Council in 1960, Dr. Rajendra Prasad did a signal honour to the Bharat Scouts and Guides by giving his consent to be its Patron-in-Chief. At a spectacular ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 12th November, 1960 the emblem of Patronin-Chief was placed on him. It is not a small measure of satisfaction to all concerned that successive Presidents of India, namely, Dr. Sarvapalli Radkakrishnan and Dr. Zakir Husain extended similar patronage to the Bharat Scouts and Guides by agreeing to be their second and third Patrons-in-Chief on 30th July, 1962 and on 20th September 1967 respectively.
The Bharat Scouts and Guides have also been fortunate in having secured the blessings of the Vice Presidents as their Patrons. The first Vice President of India Dr. Radhakrishnan became their Patron on 12th November, 1960, Dr. V. V. Giri, the then Vice-President, was installed as Patron on the 23rd September, 1967.
The Bharat Scouts and Guides were anxious to recognise suitably the best Scouts and Guides of every year and thus to inspire the young boys and girls to achieve excellence.
It was again in 1961 that the President of India graciously consented to permit the Bharat Scouts and Guides to associate his name with the best scouts and guides. This badge is conferred on the boys and girls who are adjudged the best scouts and guides of the year by their respective State associations. They are called “President’s Scouts and President’s Guides”, and the official emblem of the Government of India is placed on their badges.
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan President of India and Patron-in-Chief of BS&G Installed on 30 July, 1962 Dr. Zakir Husain President of India and Patron-in-Chief of BS&G Installed on 20 September, 1967 Dr. Rajendra Prasad The First President of India and Patron-inChief of BS&G Installed on 12 November, 1960According to the rules laid down for qualifying as President’s Scouts and President’s Guides, boys and girls must earn their first class badges, and at least five merit badges specially selected for the purpose, viz., Ambulance, Path-finder, Rescue, etc., from the Service Group and at least one of the badges for the Nature Group. They will thus be required to receive proper training in Scout/ Guide craft. Besides, they would also have to earn for themselves a record of sustained service of a recognised nature to the community at least for thirty hours.
The first batch of President’s Scouts numbering 213 and President’s Guides numbering 80 received their badges at a special Rally held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 28th November, 1961. Since the inception of the award, the number of recipients hailing from all States of India is steadily growing as can be seen from the statement given:
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan Presenting Rashtrapati Scout Award Certificate to a Scout - 1965
Shri V.V. Giri, President of India at Rashtrapati Scout/Guide Award Ceremony - 1971
Dr. Zakir Husain President of India at Rashtrapati Scout Guide Award Ceremony 1968
Shri Fakruddin Ali Ahmad, President of India, at Rashtrapati Scout/Guide Award Ceremony - 1976
Year No. of States sending Scouts & Guides for the award
No. of President’s Scouts
No. of President’s Guides
Total Number
1961 12 213 80 293
1962 12 237 122 359
1963 12 382 57 439
1964 15 664 173 837
1965 20 599 149 748
1966 21 1049 380 1429
1967 25 1228 468 1696 4372 1429 5801
The boys and girls work hard to earn this great distinction and look forward to receive the certificates personally from the hands of their beloved Rashtrapati at a special Rally which the Rashtrapati graciously permits to be held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan every year, followed by a sumptuous refreshment.
After the merger in 1950, Pandit H. N. Kunzru had been elected the National Commissioner and continued to hold the office till 1957. When he voluntarily retired and National Council elected Vivian Bose as his successor, unfortunately some of his colleagues did not like this change and did not give Bose their full co-operation in his work. This attitude became more obvious when Bose was obliged to replace the then serving National Secretary and appointed another in his place. The position of Bose became so difficult that he felt that he could not continue as National Commissioner any longer. He therefore, resigned from his office in November, 1959. This was a dark episode in the history of Scouting in India. Much of the goodwill which had been created for Indian Scouting inside the country and abroad was dissipated by this regrettable incident. Madan Mohan, Chief Commissioner (Scouts), was appointed to act in his place till the next election was held in 1960 when Pandit Kunzru was reelected unanimously as National Commissioner.
Madan Mohan, who was acting as National Commissioner when Vivian Bose resigned, was re-elected as Chief Commissioner (Scouts). He served the movement in this capacity till 4th February, 1963. He was succeeded by Siva Shankar, State Chief Commissioner, Mysore.
Looking back over the period from 1960 onwards one is struck by the fact that this year marks the beginning of a new chapter in our history. The shock given to the Movement by the premature resignation of Bose and the inclusion of seven Railways as State Branches in 1959, a step taken by Bose before his resignation changed the atmosphere and to some extent the character of the National Council. Although the merger was accomplished in 1950, the two constituent Scout Camps could not forget their old loyalties in the result, every major step taken by the leaders was for quite some time regarded with unjustified suspicion. The members of the Fourth National Council consisted not only of the representatives-of the territorial State branches but also of a large number of members from the Railways who were not committed to any of the older camps. The effect of this change was reflected in the election of the leaders in 1960. Yet the hang-over of the past and the serious illness of Pandit H. N. Kunzru prevented the emergence of the requisite and open-hearted co-operation between the top leaders at the National Headquarters notwithstanding the fact that the overhanging clouds began slowly to clear after 1960. In this respect the sacrifice which Bose made for the Bharat Scouts and Guides and his wise step to offset the class spirit of the two older camps will go down in history as a most significant contribution towards the preservation of the spirit of merger.
In 1964 Pandit H. N. Kunzru retired; the fourth National Council elected unanimously in his place, Lakshmi Mazumdar as their National Commissioner.
The Founder of Scouting, Lord Baden Powell (Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden Powell, Retd. General, Lord of Gilwell) was born in London on 22 February in the year 1857. His father. Rev. Baden Powell, was a distinguished Professor at the University of Oxford. His mother, Henrietta Grace, was also a well-educated and accomplished lady. In his autobiography, Lord Baden Powell gratefully acknowledged his indebtedness to his mother for much of his early training and character building.
Baden Powell was one of many brothers in a large family and was brought up and educated like any other boy of a middle class English family. From his young days, however, he showed much originality of mind and an innate love of out-door life. As a student in school, he knew how to lie on the ground quietly and unseen, to catch rabbits, to make fire without smoke, to cook what he had caught and he watched the birds and beasts and knew their habits, noticed the trees, plants and flowers around him.
When he grew up, he joined the army and came out to India. Here he had enormous opportunities of developing his inclination to know and to live in tune with nature, He taught Indian soldiers under his command many things, such as, stalking, trekking, scouting and love of out-door life, and this helped to make them independent thinking and self-reliant men. In a sense, it was in India that he developed his germinal idea about the scout movement.
He became a successful soldier, and later on, as a General led an army in Africa and withstood many difficult situations. In Africa also, he put his ideas about scouting into practice, and through the patrol system utilised the services of boys in the towns on all manner of errands. This was the real beginning of the scout movement, working in patrols. It was again in Africa that he coined the motto “Be prepared”. Under the inspiration of this motto and under Lord Baden Powell’s guidance and leadership, the African Police Force rendered yeoman service to the people of the war scared country .
When his assignment in Africa was over, Lord Baden Powell returned to England. In his retirement, he devoted much of his time to the needs of the young boys in the towns and wrote extensively
in the “Boys’ Own Paper” on how they could be brought up on right lines and could become observant, self-reliant and useful to the society. His idea was widely acclaimed and small scout troops sprang up in many parts of England.
The first camp for twenty boys was held in 1907 in Brownsea Island and was a great success. Encouraged by the result of this camp, more and more scout troops were formed all over England. The first big Rally of Scouts was held in London in 1909 in which about ten thousand boys participated.
Till then no girls had been officially recruited in the scout movement. But to the great surprise of the Chief Scout and the public, a small group of girls wearing scout hats and handkerchiefs and carrying long poles joined the Rally. They called themselves Girl Scouts and wanted to meet the Chief Scout. The Chief Scout saw the group at its request, but discouraged the girls from joining the movement. He thought, scouting was ‘unsuitable for girls. In this, he seemed to have been particularly influenced by the prevailing attitude of the British public. The boy scouts also did not like the presence of girls in their troop and disapproved of the latter’s sharing the scout activities with them, which, they thought, were meant only for boys. However, the girls were not to be disheartened by the disapproval of the Chief Scout or of the general public. They formed sporadic groups, dressed in scout hats and belts, and practised the scout tests.
When the Chief Scout realised that the girls were not to be easily put off, he decided to form a separate organisation for girls and called them “Guides” instead of Scouts”. The name was chosen after an Indian Regiment, noted for its courage and efficiency. Special
tests, suitable for girls, were prescribed but the Promise and the Law were kept the same as for the Scouts.
At first the guiders did not like the idea of being segregated from the scouts in particular, they thought that the tests laid down for them were much too tame. It was only gradually that they joined the new organisation, but they kept on their scout hats. It took several years to adopt a regular guide uniform which was accepted by everybody.
In 1911, Lord Baden Powell got married. Scouting and Guiding were then in their early stages. A few years later, Lady Baden Powell began to take a great deal of interest in guiding and it was only through her untiring efforts and her great personal influence that guiding in England was properly organized as one strong movement and the guides .adopted the official outfit. She remained the Chief Commissioner of Girl Guides in England till 1918 when she was given the title of Chief Guide. In 1930, she was unanimously elected by the World Conference “Chief Guide of the World.” It was a signal tribute to her leadership and her services for the cause of guiding. She visited almost all the countries where guiding was introduced. Her charm, friendliness and consideration for others have endeared her to all members of the Guide movement.
The origin and growth of the Guide movement in India. The Girl Guide Movement in India was started at Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh), where a company was formed in 1911. The first Company was opened by Dr. Cullen. It still bears on its company colours the words “Primus in India”. During the years 1911 and 1912, a few more companies sprang up here and there but very little is known about their activities. They were under the control of the Headquarters of the movement in England and used to correspond direct with London.
In July, 1913, the movement spread to Calcutta, but soon afterwards, it received a set-back by the sudden death of the District Commissioner, Mrs. Chandes. By the end of 1914, fourteen companies were formed in Calcutta and Howrah. Shortly afterwards, the number increased to twenty. About the same time, the movement made a good start in Bombay, Madras and a few other big cities. In course of a couple of years, the total number of companies in
: GIRL GUIDING IN -INDIA Lady B.P.India rose to fifty and the strength of guides increased to 1250. There were no Indian Headquarters. These companies were administered directly by the ‘Imperial’ Headquarters. This arrangement was found unsatisfactory, and the need for a local administration was urgently felt. In 1915, Mrs. M. M. Bear, the District Commissioner of Calcutta was appointed as the first Chief Commissioner Calcutta.
Although the Commissioners and Officers of the Guide Companies strongly felt the need for an Indian Headquarters, the Executive Committee of the British Girl Guide Council at London withheld its consent to any such move under the apprehension that the establishment of an Indian Headquarters might cause dissensions among the workers and the companies. In 1916, Mrs. Bear attended a conference organized by the Y. W. C. A. in Bombay, when a resolution was passed by the Conference recommending that the new Companies which had been meanwhile organized by the Y. W. C. A., Bombay, should work under the Girl Guide Headquarters, provided that the Y. W. C. A. received adequate representation on the Guide Council. This resolution strengthened the case for an Indian Headquarters. By the end of the year, Mrs. Bear was appointed Commissioner for India with her Headquarters in Calcutta. This city was selected as the Headquarters of the movement in India, because the largest number of guides were recruited from Calcutta and the Commissioner lived there.
In October, 1916, the Commissioner in India was appointed as Chief Commissioner of Girl Guides. As Chairman of the National Girl Guide Council in London, Lord Baden Powell authorised Mrs. Bear to frame, in consultation with the National Council in London, such bye-laws as might be necessary to adapt the scheme to Indian conditions. Accordingly, the constitution of the Girl Guides Association was slightly modified with the sanction of the Chief Scout. Thus the seeds of the All India Girl Guides Association were sown. The constitution provided for-
(i) A Chief Commissioner with National Council,
(ii) Provincial Commissioners with their Provincial Councils,
(iii) District Commissioners with their local Associations, (iv) Companies with Company Committees, (v) Patrol Leaders with their Patrols.
The need for bringing out an Indian Handbook was urgently felt. But the Chief Scout was very anxious that the Chief Commissioner
should personally visit the different companies in India with a view to studying the local conditions and obtaining information before the preparation of the Indian Handbook was taken in hand. It was only in 1918 that an official Handbook called “Girl Guiding” was published in London. This publication was suitably adapted to Indian conditions and was published in India in the same year, under the title “Steps to Girl Guiding in India”. A fuller edition was brought out later under the title “Girl Guiding in India”. It contained the Rules, Policy and Organisation (R. P. O.) of the All India Girl Guides Association.
Although S couting was introduced in India in 1909 and G uiding came two years later, no Indian boys or girls were included in the movement till 1916. It was generally understood that S couting and G uiding were meant only for European and Anglo-Indian boys and girls.
As far back as 1910, when the Scout movement was first introduced in India, a movement somewhat similar to guiding called the “Girl Messenger Service ’ was started in the American Mission School, Lucknow (UP). Their methods of training and tests were in many respects similar to those of scouting. The Head of this movement, Miss Davies was a very far-sighted woman. She admitted Indian girls into the movement along with others and adopted certain methods and tests to suit Indian girls and afterwards published a Handbook called “Girl Messenger Book”. The girls who were enrolled, were called “Girl Messengers.”
When Guiding and Scouting were making rapid progress among European and AngloIndian children, a move was initiated by Dr. Annie Besant. Dr. G. S. Arundale and other Indian leaders to enlist Indian boys and girls in scouting supported by strong public opinion and assisted by other sympathetic friends. Dr. Besant inaugurated the Indian Boy Scouts Association in the South in 1916. Indian Guide Companies were also formed and the girls were called Sister Guides. In 1918, under the leadership of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya and Pandit Hridayanath Kunzru and assisted by Pandit Sri Ram Bajpai and others, the Seva Samiti Scouts Association was formed in the North. This Association included girls who were known as Seva Samiti Guides. The Association had its stronghold in Banaras.
Mrs. Bear, Chief Commissioner of the Girl Guides Association, India, had the wisdom and foresight to see that Indian girls should also be enlisted in her Association. The following extracts from a report written by her in 1916-17 will throw some light on this issue:
“... The question of native guides is a very pressing one and an attempt has been made to affiliate with the Girl Messenger Service of Lucknow, which is on Girl Guides Lines, and has been doing successful work. At present, this attempt is in abeyance, until the opinion of the founder of the Messengers who is at present in America can be obtained, she having opposed affiliation at a former date chiefly on the ground that the Guiders teach loyalty to the British Empire while the Messengers are taught loyalty to their own country, India. As the loyal bonding together of all daughters of the Empire, whether English, Canadian, South African, Australian or Indian, etc. is a great asset and makes a great bond, this part of our service could not be abandoned without rendering on the whole no use and indeed harmful and shows the need of a Girl Guide movement among Indian girls all the more.......”
In 1916, the British Headquarters gave Mrs. Bear necessary authority to enroll Indian girls in the Guide movement and to modify the badges and rules according to the needs of the Indian girls. The first Indian Guide Company appears to have been the Second Poona Company.
In 1919, a separate Commissioner for the Indian Guides was appointed in Bengal. Mrs. Greeves was the first C ommissioner in charge of Indian Guides. From the old records, it does not appear that similar separate Commissioners for Indian Guides were appointed in other provinces. The Late Lady Abala Bose (wife of the famous scientist, the late Sir J. C. Bose), a great woman educationist and pioneer social worker of Calcutta was appointed as the first Indian Commissioner of Indian Guides in Bengal in 1920. Lady Bose was the founder-secretary of the Brahmo Girls’ School, Calcutta, one of the earliest English High Schools for Indian girls. It was in 1919 that guiding was introduced in this school and the 23rd Guide Company was registered. It appears from a contemporary report by Miss Patricia Richards, General Secretary of the Girl Guides Association, India, that shortly afterwards a Guide Company was opened at Rabindranath Tagore’s Ashram (now a University) at Shantiniketan. It appears that in the early twenties, the following ladies were given the rank
of Commissioners Smt. S. K. Mukherjee, Smt. S. C. Mukherjee of Bengal and Smt. Datta of the Punjab. It also appears that Smt. Banerjee, the first Indian lady, was appointed Captain of 8th Calcutta Company in August. 1914.
In the year 1921 the Chief Scout and Lady Baden Powell visited India at the invitation of Lord Chelmsford the then Viceroy of India. They toured all over the country and met Scouts and Guides wherever they went. It was during this visit that, through the great efforts of Lady Baden Powell, the Girl Messenger Service the Sister Scouts and the Seva Samiti Guides and Scouts came to an understanding and agreed to early amalgamation.
The following extracts from a report by the then Chief Commissioner, in 1920-21, will throw some light on the mergermove:
“.................we had a number of Indian Guides but the affiliation of Scout Association which was accomplished by Sir Robert led to the existing Guide movements joining us. The Girl Messengers (Lucknow), the Seva Samiti Scouts (Banaras), and the Sister Scouts (South India) are willing to register at our Headquarters. In the case of the Girl Messengers and the Seva Samiti Guides, they will be under a District Commissioner, holding a warrant from Headquarters. The Girl Messengers will retain their name and they will have the tests for proficiency badges slightly modified. Mrs. Besant’s Guides will join us as Guides with no change..................”
The Sister Scouts and Messenger Girls merged with the Guide Association, but on account of a last minute disagreement the Seva Samiti Guides stayed away.
In 1922, the Executive Committee of the Indian Headquarters was reconstituted and all the Provincial Commissioners and Members from Departments became members of the Executive Committee. The reconstituted Committee was renamed the General Council. It met annually and functioned as the Central Authority for the Girl Guides Association in India. Prior to this reconstitution, the Headquarters Committee was mainly composed of residents of Calcutta, who nominally represented different Provinces and Departments. It was on the recommendation of Lady Baden Powell that the Imperial Headquarters sent out Miss Patricia Richards to reorganize the movement in India.. On her arrival in the country; she was appointed as the first General secretary.
In 1923, the first All India Camp was held at Ganeshkind, near Poona, under a Scout Deputy Camp Chief (Trainer), Mr. A. C. Miller. Twenty seven Guides from all over India received the training and twenty of them were awarded Camp licence. In 1924, Guides from India attended the first World Camp at Foxlease, England.
One of the main problems of the movement was finance. For want of adequate funds, the movement was seriously handicapped. Efforts were made to collect money for publications and training. In 1922, the late Maharaja of Jaipur donated a sum of £ 1000/- to the Guide Association, India, in commemoration of the marriage of H. R. H. Princess Mary. The interest of this amount was utilised for the translation of the English publications into different Indian languages, In 1923, Mrs. Gall of Calcutta, a Philanthropic lady, donated a large sum for the appointment of a whole time trainer in India for two years. The Association also secured small grantsin-aid from the Provincial and Central Governments for recurring expenditure. In 1933, through the efforts of Lady Willingdon, the then Vice-reine of India (who was also the Patron of the Association) several Princes of the then Indian States and prominent businessmen and others, viz.. Lady Ratan Tata, Lady Cowasji Jehangir, Lady Kikabhoy Premchand, Sir Badridas Goenka, to name only a few, were appointed Vice-Patrons of the Association The subscriptions and contributions collected from different sources were invested and only the interest on the amount was utilised for recurring expenses. Eventually, a Trust Corporation was formed and the funds were placed in its custody.
In 1932, the Executive Committee of the Indian Association, for the first time, elected Lady Butler as the Chief Commissioner of the Girl Guides Association. Lady Glancy, Mrs. Cary Morgan, Mrs. Chadwick, Lady Cooper, Lady Crofton were others who were later on elected Chief Commissioners. These ladies contributed a great deal to the development of the Guide movement in this country. In 1947, the Association was proud to have as its first Indian Chief Commissioner, Smt. H. C. Captain. Among the Indian ladies who, in the thirties, worked hard for the Association were Smt. Julie Sen, Smt. P. M. Khareghat, Smt. Onila Chatterjee, Miss Dabashayam Miss K. Rao and others. By this time, the majority of the Guides and their leaders
Smt. H. C. Captain
were Indians, but British women were mostly in charge of the higher administration of the movement. There were Indian Commissioners of lower ranks. Till 1946, except Lady Mirza Ismail (appointed in 1933 in Mysore,) Smt. Julie Sen (appointed in 1940 in Bengal), Mrs. Lal Kaka (appointed in 1944 in Bombay) and Smt. H.C. Captain (appointed in 1946 in Bombay), all the Provincial Commissioners were British. In 1947, the majority of them relinquished their posts and Indian ladies were appointed in their places. Among the Indian trainers, as distinct from administrative Commissioners, who rendered valuable service to the movement, were Miss S. B. Rustomjee. Miss N. Biswas, Miss G. Samuel, Miss H. Mehta, Miss Aziz Rahmat Mashi, and Miss Mona Mashi. Miss Rustomjee acted as All India Trainers for a year from July, 1939 to June, 1940. Miss T. Asha was appointed All India Trainer in 1948 and continued as such till November, 1953. In the Hindustan Scout Association C. Mohini did good work as a trainer.
Although the Girl Guides Association did splendid work among the young girls in India, the movement did not quite succeed in catching the imagination of the Indian public. Guiding and Scouting were of British origin, and in the Promise there was a formal expression of loyalty to the King Emperor. The political situation in the country and the acute nationalist sentiment of those days made many people understandably suspicious of the bonafides of the movement therefore, in the twenties and the early thirties, the movement was confirmed mainly to the educational institutions managed by Convents and other Missionary organisations. In 1928, the senior students of the Brahmo Girls’ School, Calcutta, one of the leading non-denominational schools of the City, refused to take the promise of loyalty to the King Emperor.
In 1937, the Chief Scout and the Chief Guide again visited India. Intense efforts were again made to arrive at an understanding with the Seva Samiti Scout Association and the Indian National Scout
Association of Bombay. Everyone recognised that, in the interests of the children, all the Scouts and Guides should be brought under one Scout and Guide Association. But on the issue of the Promise, the negotiations broke down. In 1938, the Seva Samiti Scout Association and the National Scout Association merged into a new body called “The Hindustan Scout Association” which included both Guides and Scouts in its membership.
The Girl Guide Association reviewed the situation at its General Council meeting at Lucknow held in 1938 and passed a resolution deleting the word “Emperor” from the Promise and brought it in line with that of other Dominion countries like Canada and Australia.
The question of the Promise came up again at the meeting of the General Council in 1946 at Hyderabad. After a lengthy debate, it was decided by a majority of votes that the Guide Promise for India should be “loyalty to God, my country and its law”. On account of some legal and technical difficulties, however, this change in the form of the Promise could not be uniformly implemented. In the following year, at the Jaipur Conference, this resolution was rectified.
The Girl Guides Association has had the advantage of having its own magazine from its earliest days. As early as 1916, the first copy of “The Indian Guide News Sheet” was published, and it carriel Guide news and the message and ideals of guiding all over India. In 1936, the name of the magazine was changed to “The Indian Guide’1 which was regularly published till the merger in 1951.
Throughout its life of forty years, the All India Girl Guides Association worked steadily among the girls. The Companies were mostly attached to educational institutions where teachers most ungrudgingly served the movement in their spare time, as Lieutenants and Captains. While it was true that the Commissioners were ultimately responsible for the administration and co-ordination of the activities of these Companies, it was the silent and unostentatious work of the hundreds of school teachers and their loyalty and devotion to the movement that sustained and developed it during its period of trial and kept the flag of guiding flying high throughout the land.
Indian Guiding and the World Soon after the introduction of Guiding in England, many countries in the world adopted the movement for their girls. Old records show that as early as 1910,
CAmE TRUEcountries like Australia, Finland and South Africa started girl scouting. By 1914, guiding had come into India, Canada, Sweden, Denmark and Poland. In the beginning, the movement started in a sporadic way; small groups of girls gathered together and adopted the Chief Scout’s scheme of tests before anybody really knew about it. Thus it was impossible for Miss Agnes Baden Powell, sister of the Chief Scout (who was requested by her brother to help him in organizing the guide movement) to keep in touch with these sporadic groups in the different Countries. During the First World War, it became still more difficult to maintain contact with all the countries where guides were striving hard to stand up to their ideals. When it became clear that guiding was striking roots in the Dominions and Colonies under the British Empire, Lady Baden Powell established the Imperial Council and became its Chairman. The aim of the Council was to bring all these countries under central control and supervision, so that mutual interest and sympathetic understanding of one another’s problems could be ensured throughout the British Empire.
In 1919, soon after the Armistice, Lady Baden Powell felt it extremely necessary to organize an International Council in order to establish and maintain regular link with the Guides .of the countries outside the Empire. She became the first Chairman of this Council, Mrs. Mark Kurr, the Vice Chairman and Mrs. Essex Reade, the Honorary Secretary. The First International Conference was held in 1920 at St. Rugh’s College; Oxford, England. This development was a big step forward in the growth of International Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting. Lady Baden Powell requested Dame Rachel Crowdy of the League of Nations to attend the Oxford Conference, but on account of her other preoccupations, she could not do so, but sent her recommendations for the creation of an international organisation of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts which, it is interesting to mention anticipated those of the Fifth World Conference in Hungary, some years later.
The Second International Conference held at Newnham College, Cambridge , brought twentyeight countries together. The delegates went back with the firm conviction that “the guide movement is a chain which can draw the scattered nations of the earth together into a closer fellowship with peace and goodwill .”
The Third Conference was held in 1924 at Foxlease, England, and the Fourth in the United States of America in 1926. This
III :Conference was very important in the history of the movement, in as much as it was at this Conference that the seeds of the New World Association were sown. At this Conference, the name of the magazine “World Bulletin” published by the Council was changed to “Council Fire”.
In 1928, at the Fifth Conference held in Hungary, the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts came into being. A sub-committee of nine members of nine different countries, with Mrs. Mark Kurr as Chairman and Dame Katherine Farse as Secretary was appointed by the Chief Scout to consider the many problems that were brought up by different countries and to report to the World Conference. It was decided that the World Association should have a World Committee of nine members elected by the Association with a World Bureau under the head of the World Director, to function as its Secretariat. The World Bureau was to be situated in London and Dame Katherine - Farse was appointed the first World Director. The Bureau was to be financed by annual contributions to be paid by the member countries on the basis of the formula—£ 1/per thousand guides per year. In 1929, India became a full member of the World Association. At the Sixth World Conference, held at: Foxlease in 1930, the World Flag was adopted. This consisted of a gold trefoil on a bright blue background. The Conference also elected Lady Baden Powell as the Chief Guide of the World.
The World Association held its subsequent biennial Conferences as follows :
7th World Conference Poland 1932
8th World Conference Switzerland 1934
9th World Conference Sweden 1936
10th World Conference Switzerland 1938
(In 1940, 1942 and 1944 during the Second World War, no conferences were held.
11th World Conference France 1946
12th World Conference U.S.A. 1948
13th World Conference England 1950
14th World Conference Norway 1952
CAmE15th World Conference Holland 1954
The Fifteenth world conference held in Holland decided to convene their sessions triennially instead of at every two years.)
16th World Conference Greece 1960
17th World Conference Denmark 1963
18th World Conference Japan 1966
Smt. Julie Sen was the first Indian who had the honour of representing Indian guide movement at the Seventh World Conference held in Poland in 1932. Smt. H. C. Captain was the first Indian Guide to be elected to the World Committee at the Twelfth World Conference held in 1948. Lakshmi Mazumdar was elected to the World Committee in 1957 and served the body for nine years.
After the merger of the Girl Guides Association with the Bharat Scouts and Guides on 15 August, 1951, the All India Girl Guides Association ceased to be a member of the World Association and the guide section of the Bharat Scouts and Guides applied for fresh affiliation to the World Organisation. The constitution of the World Association provides interalia that one of the conditions for membership of this Association is that guide movement in a country should be run by women, and the women’s section should be autonomous as regards finance and policies. As the Bharat Scouts and Guides was a joint movement, misgivings were expressed at the World Association as to the position and status of the Guides in our joint organisation. But at the Fourteenth Conference held in Norway in 1952, Lakshmi Mazumdar, who represented India, presented India’s case in its true perspective and succeeded in removing these doubts. As a consequence of her successful presentation of the facts about the Indian movement, the World Committee passed the following resolution .
“The World Committee asks the Bharat Scouts and Guides to take action upon the following matters :
(a) that important constitutional matters at present in A. P. R. O. only be transferred to the constitution of the Bharat Scouts and Guides ;
(b) that the trefoil be incorporated in the official badge worn by Bharat Scouts and Guides as their Promise Badge. As a special exception and as evidence of its sincere desire to give maximum support to the Bharat Scouts and Guides the World Committee would ask the World Conference
to delegate the power to accept India as Full Member as soon as the World Committee is satisfied that the required conditions have been fulfilled.
To help the Bharat Scouts and Guides achieve these requirements as soon as possible, the World Committee is ready to send the Director to India, if desired.”
This resolution was unanimously adopted by the World Association. This friendly gesture on the part of the World Association was very much appreciated by India and the National Commissioner of the Bharat Scouts and Guides sent an invitation to the World Director to visit India. The World Director of the International Scout Association, Col. J. S. Wilson had already arranged to visit India in October, 1952. Both the Directors of the Scout International and the World Bureau of Girl Guides so arranged their itinerary that they were in a position to visit Delhi at the same time and to have full discussions with the Bharat Scouts and Guides. At a meeting held on 3 November, 1953 between the two World Directors, National Commissioner, the two Chief Commissioners, the National Organizing Commissioner, the National Secretary and the Indian representative to the Norway Conference, it was decided to the satisfaction of everybody concerned that—the following constitutional matters at present in the A. P. R. O. should be transferred to ‘the constitution of the Bharat Scouts and Guides :
Section I ... Rule 3
Section II ... Rule 28 (ii) & (iv)
Section III ... Rule 42 (4)
Section IV ... Rule 68 (5)
with an addition regarding finance. Separate amount should be budgeted for guide purposes. The audit and balance sheet, however, will be for the whole Association and not for the two sections separately.
The expenditure of the budgeted funds will be controlled at all levels by the respective Executive Committees.
Section VIII ... Rule (iii)
Section VII ... Rule 26 be so amended as to ensure that the trefoil be incorporated in the official badge worn by the Bharat Guides as their Promise Badge.
DREAm CAmE TRUEThis agreement was ratified by the Interim Council at its meeting held in May, 1953. But this change could not be introduced in the Constitution as the Interim Council was not authorised to do so. After the lapse of three years of the interim period on 6 November, 1953, the first National Council was formed. Smt. H. C. Captain was again elected the Chief Commissioner, Guides. At a special meeting of the National Council held on 28 March, 1954, the above mentioned clauses were incorporated in the Constitution. At a meeting of the World Committee held in April, the Guides Section of the Bharat Scouts and Guides was affiliated to the World Association. Lakshmi Mazumdar attended the Fifteenth World Conference in Holland as the first representative of the Bharat Scouts and Guides.
In retrospect one cannot help appreciating the fact that, although in the early days of the merger talks a number of women leaders both in India and abroad were not happy about the decision, fearing that the Guide Section would be dominated by their Scout brothers, the immediate, effect of the merger was that the movement became much more broad-based. Till the end of the forties, it was the girls mostly from urban areas and belonging to comparatively more wellto-do and progressive families who used to come forward to join the movement. It is true that many schools run by several Christian Missions used to encourage the movement in their institutions and consequently, the students of such institutions, irrespective of whether they came from affluent or indigent families were enrolled into the movement. Nevertheless, the entry of girls into the movement was limited by and large to those from the more well-todo and sophisticated families.
During the last eighteen years the situation has completely changed. Today, at least 40 per cent of guides are from rural and semi-rural areas and belong to all classes of the society. This noticeable change in the class composition of Guides may not have come about entirely because of the merger, but may have been largely a consequence of the change in the country’s political and social conditions in the post-war and post-independence period.
Dame Leslie Whateley assumed office as World Director of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in the early fifties. She was never in the Guide Movement before she took charge of her high office in the World Bureau. But her natural understanding and sympathy for the under-privileged, and her constructive appreciation of the causes of international tensions created by racial, regional,
political and economic factors helped her to take bold and decisive steps in World Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting. She, as World Director and Mrs. Helen Means, as Chairman of the World Committee, made a perfect team. They worked harmoniously in a way, which made the member countries more conscious of the existence of the World Bureau and their world links with one another. The effect of .this consciousness reached India and urged her to take a long, wideranking look beyond her frontiers.
Dame Leslie Whateley came out to India in 1952 in order to settle the constitutional difficulties which stood in the way of the admission of the Guide Section (as a partner in the joint movement of the Bharat Scouts and Guides’) as a member of the World Associations. It did not take much time for Pandit Kunzru, the then National Commissioner to appreciate her high qualities. In her turn, Dame Leslie understood the sterling qualities of Pandit Kunzru. They soon succeeded in establishing a genuine understanding and rapport with each other. Many of the problems which arose soon after the merger, inside India and also in her relations with, the World Bureau, could be satisfactorily settled largely on account of this understanding. This process was further accelerated by the deep attachment to and sincere admiration for each other shared by Dame Leslie and Lakshmi Mazumdar. Smt. Mazumdar was only a State Commissioner of Guides of a small State in India. Like many others she appreciated the international character of the movement but was never interested in the working processes of the World Bureau and its Conference, etc. As a matter of fact when the World Association was holding its thirteenth session at Oxford, England in 1950, Smt. Mazumdar happened to be in London. She neither attended the Conference nor visited the World Bureau. In 1952 on her way to U. S. A. she was in London and just out of curiosity happened to drop in at the World Bureau, then housed in a tiny place at Palace Street, London. Here she met Dame Leslie the World Director for the first time. Immediately an accord was established between the two, which in course of time developed into a life-long friendship based on genuine respect for each other.
Here Smt. Mazumdar learnt from the Director of the World Bureau that the All India Girl Guides Association had lost her membership of the World Association as the former ceased to exist as a separate entity on the 15th August 1951 after it joined the Bharat Scouts and Guides. Dame Leslie further told her that on account of
CAmE TRUEsome provisions of the constitution of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, it was doubtful if the Guide Section of the Bharat Scouts and Guides could qualify for admission as the member of the world body. She was, however, prepared to place the matter before the Fourteenth World Conference to be held at Dombass, Norway in August 1952 and to ascertain from the members if they would agree to offer their affiliation to .the Indian Guides. Smt. Mazumdar immediately wrote to Pandit. Kunzru and the then Chief Commissioner of Girl Guides, Smt. Captain about the gist of her talks with Dame Leslie. This was about the middle of May in 1952. Immediately after her interview with Dame Leslie. Smt. Mazumdar left for the U.S.A. to participate in a most interesting programme covering many cities all over the States. At the end of July while she was busy with a Women’s Conference at Asilomer, California, she received a letter from Pandit Kunzru, advising her to proceed to Norway to attend the Fourteenth World Conference to be held at Norway and to represent the Bharat Scouts and Guides, as Smt. Captain was not able to attend it. She was further informed by Pandit Kunzru that, as the Bharat Scouts and Guides had no extra funds at their disposal and as the Guide funds had not been transferred to the merged association he would not be able to provide any funds for her trip to Norway or for her other expenses. Smt. Mazumdar had many other assignments in Mexico and in other southern States of the U. S. A. lasting for another two months. She had learnt from Dame Leslie that if India did not present her case adequately, there was every chance of the Indian Guides losing their affiliation. She foresaw that, if the Guide Section of the Bharat Scouts and Guides was not recognised by the World Association, the decision which the All India Girl Guides Association had taken to join the Bharat Scouts and Guides, would have to be reviewed. And thus the process of merger of the three associations and the dream of an integrated national movement in India would again fall into a melting pot. It was not easy for Smt. Mazumdar to come to a decision. Not only did she have to face the embarrassing situation likely to be created by the cancellation of a number of engagements already accepted but she had very little foreign exchange to spare for her trip to Norway. Nevertheless, in order to prevent India’s case from going by default (and this would have happened if India went unrepresented at the Norway Conference) she decided to face the difficulties and to proceed to Norway. Accordingly, she arrived at Oslo on 12 August,
1952 at 11.30 P. M, two days before the Conference was to be held at Dombass. In the land where sun does not set till about midnight in summer, she arrived late in the evening, but in the twilight of the day, without much money in hand or any reference to anybody in a country completely unknown to her, or without having her reservation of accommodation in any hotel confirmed. To add to these difficulties, when she landed at the airport, she found that the few men and women whom she approached for her accommodation knew little English. She had, therefore, to take shelter in a most expensive hotel in Oslo for the night, and on the following morning she went to the Guide Headquarters to contact the local guides. On the 14th, along with many others, she went by train to Dombass, a charming place with hills and pine forests all round. In the United States, as it was the height of summer, she did not carry any woollen clothing. At. Dombass, with hills right in the North, it was very cold even in August. Smt. Mazumdar could not speak to anybody about her discomfort. Moreover, the hotel did not have the kind of bath she was used to in India. They had arrangements for only Turkish bath. On account of traditional conventions, she found it almost impossible to join in this kind of mass bathing.
As luck would have it, the World Chief Guide came in. As soon as she saw a woman in Sari from India she embraced Smt. Mazumdar and took her aside for a talk. In course of the conversation the Chief Guide found out the two immediate problems which were bothering Smt. Mazumdar. By the time the latter returned to her room after meeting the Chief Guide, she received a packet from her containing two sets of her own woollen underwears and a note saying that these sets might be double her size, but would at least give her some warmth. In her note she also invited Smt. Mazumdar to share her exclusive bath room in the morning, by arrangement. This indeed solved the immediate hurdles. Smt. Mazumdar was filled with deep admiration for the Chief Guide for her generous consideration for others.
But the real hurdle had yet to follow when the time for registration of the delegates came. The All India Girl Guides Association had lost her membership and the position of the Bharat Scouts and Guides was still under consideration. Smt. Mazumdar found that she did not have any locus standi at the conference.
It was indeed a funny situation. Pandit Kunzru had written to the World Bureau that Smt. Mazumdar would represent the Bharat Scouts and Guides, while Smt. Captain had suggested that Smt. Julie
DREAm CAmE TRUEAyyer, the then State Commissioner of Bihar would represent the All India Girl Guides Association which had met its natural death when it joined the Bharat .Scouts and Guides on 15 August 1951. Mrs. Captain was a member of the World Committee but could neither attend the Committee meetings nor the sessions of the Conference. Without any knowledge of all this background of ‘play-back music’. Smt. Mazumdar walked into the Conference hall. She was at once suspected to be one of those conspirators who were working against the wishes of the Indian Guides to please their Scout brothers. But for Dame Leslie, she would have left the place at once. The former knew that Smt. Mazumdar had come to Norway because she had hinted to her that she should try and attend the conference if nobody else came from India.
In any case on 15 August morning, Smt. Mazumdar was asked to appear before the full session of the World Committee, and present the case of the Bharat Scouts and Guides. She explained to the World Committee that neither the Scouts nor Government had pressed the Girl Guides Association to merge with the Bharat Scouts and Guides. Smt. Captain was associated with the merger committee from the beginning, and at successive general council meetings of the All India Girl Guides Association, the matter had been discussed and the final decision had been taken at the meeting of the General Council of the Association held at Lucknow in February 1951. She added that she had not personally attended this session and was not a party to the final decision taken about the merger, but she defended her Chief Commissioner most forcefully, refuting the allegations made by a few Commissioners in India to the World Committee representative who had been sent to India in 1951 that Smt. Captain had forced the merger on them. She explained vigorously the improved position of women in post-independent India and their attitude towards social problems. She gave the delegates to the Conference a clear exposition of the position of the Guide Section in the merged body to which all parties participating in the merger had agreed. She further assured the World Committee that if ever there was any threat to the autonomy of the women’s position in the joint movement, the Indian guides would not take the matter lying down and would not hesitate to press for a review or the merger decision.
After hearing her presentation, the World Committee agreed to let Smt. Majumdar represent the Bharat Scouts and Guides as an observer. They also agreed that if Smt. Ayyer came, she should
also represent the Bharat Scouts and Guides and not the defunct All India Girl Guides Association. Smt. Julie Ayycr reached Dombass two days after Smt. Mazumdar had arrived. The World Committee asked Smt. Ayyer to appear before them by herself, i.e., without Smt. Mazumdar. As the condition of the movement in Bihar was not satisfactory; Smt. Ayyer had another story to tell. That somewhat affected the favourable atmosphere which Smt. Mazumdar had been able to create. But, unfortunately, this did not induce the World Committee to change its earlier decision. Smt. Mazumdar, however, pointed out to the Chairman of the World Committee that it was the accepted policy of the World Bureau that the views of a country should be represented by the delegation representing the country and it was only in exceptional cases that an individual member could express her personal views, with the prior consent of the country which she represented. As a protest, Smt. Mazumdar offered to withdraw from the Conference. It was not known what transpired behind the scenes but it must be said to the credit of the members of the World Committee that they know (and it has always been so) when and how to rise to any occasion. They understood where they had gone wrong and explained to Smt. Mazumdar that there was no motive behind their action when they had asked Smt. Ayyer to appear before them alone. There was no doubt that it was due to the good offices of Dame Leslie and Mrs. Helen Means, who had been elected Chairman of the World Committee at Dombass, that everything worked out so well, and eventually the Guides Section of the Bharat Scouts and Guides received its due affiliation. This was the start of a chain reaction which was later destined to pave the way for a bigger and more important role to be played by the Bharat Scouts and Guides in the “World Association of the Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.”
Inspite of many a difficulty, after having won the international affiliation, the Indian guides concentrated their attention on strengthening their home front. It has been mentioned elsewhere that by and large the guide movement was confined to a limited section of the population of the country and the total number of enrolled members was about eighty thousand only. But it should be appreciated that whatever may be the numerical strength of the Movement, the standard of guiding in this country is as high as in any other part of the world. This was possible because the Indian Association possessed a corps of good trainers. To mention only a
CAmE TRUEfew outstanding names, they included Miss. Shirin Rustomjee, Miss Niru Biswas, Miss G. Samuel, Miss. Anu Karkare, Miss H. Mehta, Miss Tehmi Asha, Mrs. Iris Ferris. These trainers mostly belonged to Bombay, Bengal and Madras. They helped to run All India camps, and most of the States had to depend on the services of trainers from outside their own areas.
It was found that the expansion of the movement could not be undertaken unless the States were helped to build up at least one corps of trainers in everyone of them.
Smt. Mazumdar was deputed by the Bharat Scouts and Guides as a delegate to the Fifteenth World Conference held in Holland. Afterwards she attended the Chief Commissioners’ meeting held at Foxlease. She approached the then Chief Commissioner of the Commonwealth Headquarters, Lady Strathedon and sought her help in building up a training team for India. Lady Strathedon very generously offered to assist India in this respect. In consultation with the World Bureau a scheme was drawn under which India would send three prospective trainers every year for a period of four years to England for special training at Foxlease and Woddow. Under this assignment, the Bharat Scouts and Guides were to bear the transport cost of the trainers while Commonwealth Headquarters were to be responsible for their board and lodging and other incidental expenses. It was also agreed that the candidates would be selected out of those who would undertake to offer their whole time services after their return to India at least for a period of three years. This scheme helped India to build up a nucleus of trainers for twelve State Associations. Some of them are still serving the movement as outstanding trainers.
According to the terms of the merger, Smt. Chanchal Mohini of the Hindustan Scout Association was taken in as one of the Joint National Organizing Commissioners. She had been trained by Shri Ram Bajpai and consequently her approach to training was based on the scheme of training for Scouts. Smt. Lakshmi Mazumdar foresaw the difficulties that might arise in future in having one of the key women without much knowledge in the type of training adopted in the rest of the Guide World. With the help of Mrs. Choate who was then in charge of the Julliete Low programme in the U. S. A., Smt. Mazumdar arranged to send Smt. Mohini to the Chalet as one of the participants in the Julliete Low Session in 1951. Along with her Smt. A. Wahabuddin of the All India Girl Guides Association
was also sent for this course. From the Chalet, Smt. Mohini was sent to England where she attended training courses at the Woddow Training Centre. This was the first step taken to build up Smt. Mohini for her future assignment as the first Camp Chief of the Bharat Scouts and Guides. Smt. Mohini was keen and interested in her work; she did not fritter away the opportunities given to her. She returned to India with much more confidence and much better understanding of the nature of training for girls. Her quiet personality also won her many friends among the trainers of the other countries. The Bharat Scouts and Guides would remain grateful to Mrs. Choate for having agreed to take Smt. Mohini as a Juliet Low girl, in spite of the fact that she was not eligible for this course as she was over-age and was a married woman with a daughter. Incidentally, the course was meant only for unmarried young adults.
It may be mentioned here that if early steps had not been taken to train up Smt. Mohini in proper Guide Training, there would have been always a conflict in the Guide Section, between two schools of training—one firmly based on the traditional scheme of guide training and the other on a different type of training based almost wholly on the Scheme of Training for Scouts. It was through the good offices of Smt. Mazumdar that Smt. Mohini later on was sent abroad on several assignments, viz., as a member of the staff for Ranger Leaders’ Conference held at Chalet, as a trainee to the World Courses organized by the World Bureau at Athens and also to the U. S. A. for observation and study in the programme activities of the Girl Scouts for about three months.
At the Fifteenth World Conference held in Holland in 1954, it was decided that the International Commissioners meetings should be organized on a regional basis. On behalf of India, Smt. Mazumdar extended an invitation to the World Body, offering to host the International Commissioners’ meeting for the Asian Region in India. The World Committee accepted this invitation. On 22 October, 1956, the International Commissioners’ meeting of the Asian Region was held in New Delhi in which about all the Asian countries and U. K. and U. S. A. participated. This was the first time in the history of the movement that an international event was held in India.
This meeting passed a number of resolutions, one of which sponsored a meaningful project in Asia, viz., the demand for a World Home in the Asian Region. This resolution processed through various stages, and eventually, at the Eighteenth World Conference
DREAm CAmE TRUEheld in Denmark, the offer of India for the establishment of this Centre at Poona was accepted. Smt. Mazumdar was requested to be the Chairman1 of the Planning Committee, constituted by the World Committee for the implementation of the project. At this Conference, a Sub-committee was also appointed for the management and administration of the Centre. Smt. Mazumdar was requested to be the Chairman and Smt. Leela Anjanappa was nominated to be one of the members of the Sub-committee. The Centre was named as SANGAM and Miss Anu Karkare was appointed its Guider-incharge. The story of the establishment of SANGAM is most exciting and when fully written, would provide a most fascinating reading. Space forbids any such exercise in this context. It will, however, suffice to, mention here that the Asian countries wanted to have a home of their own in this region, and their dream was realised when the Chief Guide in the presence of a distinguished gathering opened the SANGAM on 16 October, 1966.
In 1957, at the Sixteenth World Conference held in Brazil, Smt. Mazumdar was elected to the World Committee which she served devotedly for the full period of her term ending in October, 1966.
In 1957, Smt. Captain retired and the National Council elected Smt. Clubwala Jadhav as their Chief Commissioner. Smt. Mazumdar was elected Chief Commissioner in place of Smt. Jadhav by the Council in 1960. Smt. Mazumdar was elected National Commissioner in 1964. The unanimous election of a woman as the National Commissioner of
Lady B.P. World Chief Guide at SANGAM the world Guide Centre
the Bharat Scouts and Guides, a joint movement of Scouts and Guides was a unique event in the history of World Scouting and Guiding and proved to the world that the doubts which had been entertained in the early days of the merger about the position of women in a joint movement had no ‘basis in fact. In 1963 was succeeded by Dr. (Miss) Parimal Das as Chief Commissioner of Guides (and in 1966, Smt. Z. R. Ranji was elected Chief Commissioner in place of Miss Das.)
Under dynamic leadership, Indian Guiding has made phenomenal all round progress and Indian Guides and Guiders have proved themselves to be as good a body as anywhere else in the world. A number of training courses for various programmes are being organized annually. Successive specialists e.g., Miss Peggy Simon (for Handicapped Guide Leaders’ Training Scheme) and Miss Mildred Leeson (as Brownie Trainer) were sent to India by the Commonwealth Headquarters as arranged by Smt. Mazumdar. The services of these specialist Training leaders were utilised on a regional basis and provided the movement with a band of well trained and well equipped leaders.
There is yet a long way to go. Compared to the number of girl population in India, the Movement has not been able even to touch the fringe. But it may not be too much to claim that the Bharat Scouts and Guides has arrived at the take-off stage in its history, and with the blessings of all concerned it will not have to traverse many more dreary stretches of land in order to achieve its aims and objects or to secure the fulfilment of the purposes underlying the Movement.
It has been mentioned earlier that the fundamental principles of Scouting and Guiding underlying the Promise and Law as well as the inspiration of the workers of the Movement were drawn from the same source, viz. the Founder. But naturally the working methods, schemes of training and particularly the programme of activities, could not be the same. Unlike in most other countries, Indian Scouting and Guiding started with two entirely different organisations, which carried on their work separately. On the Fifteenth August, 1951, the Guide Organisation merged voluntarily with the Bharat Scouts and Guides, and since then both these sections have learnt gradually, over a period of eighteen years, to share each others’ hazards and fortunes. In the circumstances, the full account of the movement in the days after 1951, will constitute the combined story of Scouting and Guiding in India.
Many Scouts and Guides particularly those hailing from countries where Scouting and Guiding are strictly confined to organisations controlled by their own sex, looked askance at the Joint working of the two sections in the Bharat Scouts and Guides. So did many of us in India, particularly, those pioneer volunteer women leaders, who had seen in their early days how difficult it had been for them to secure equal rights with men. Certainly, the working of the Scout and Guide Sections in early days of the Bharat Scouts and Guides was not without its trials and tribulations. Even now, in their enthusiasm, sometimes some of the big bosses of the Scout movement overstep their limits and try to impose their will on the Guides. Indeed, it is only as a result of continuous watchfulness and vigilance on the part of our top leaders, that a reasonable convention has now been evolved which ensures the easy and smooth functioning of their joint movement.
It will be worthwhile to explain at some length what is really involved in the joint working of the organisation. The salient point to appreciate in this connection is that the structure is jointly manned only at the top where men and women sit, think, plan and work together for the welfare of the national organisation. Apart from this, both the sections are autonomous. The National Commissioner at the National level and the State Chief Commissioner at the State level are the heads of office, who control the finances of the organisation
according to the budget estimates, as passed by the National and State Councils, and co-ordinate the activities of both the sections. From the district level downwards there is no common head, which indicates clearly that the execution of the programme activities is in the hands of the leaders of the two sections. Moreover, there is a mandatory provision in the Constitution of the organisation, agreed to at the time of the merger, that the training schemes of the two sections would be run entirely by the two sections, and their execution would be entrusted to the Camp Chiefs of the two sections.
This is the spirit and understanding on the basis of which the women agreed to join with their brothers in our movement in this country. It is our sincere desire, whatever may be provocation, that this spirit and understanding should not be impaired.
In our movement we claim to build up our boys and girls as the future citizens of the country and the world. In our country, on account of many historical and social factors, women, in the past, have had to depend to a large extent on their men partners. In this context, it will, to my mind, be an additional training for our younger generation, particularly for the girls, when they see for themselves that when responsibilities are given, women also can hold their own and deliver the goods. It is, therefore, most desirable that in all joint functions like, say, Campfire, Rallies, Jamborees, etc. the responsibility for these functions should be shared equally by men and women leaders.
The first combined gathering was held in October, 1952 when Conference of the Scouters and Guiders was held in Delhi, which
Dr. Rajendra Prasad, President of India addressing Scouters and Guiders during a conference held at New Delhi - Dr. H.N. Kunzru, National Commissioner is seated to his left -1952
was also attended by the then World Directors Col. Wilson and Dame Leslie. ln spite of the dominating personality of Shri Ram Bajpai the then National Organizing Commissioner, the Conference was an eye-opener as to the nature of the arrangements to be made, the procedure etc. to be followed and the pattern of leadership to be built up for the future. Sixteen years have elapsed since the joint Conference was held in 1952.
During this period five successful. All India Jamborees, nine All India Commissioners’ Conferences, five All India Sandhans (Training Conferences), three All India Samagams (Rovers and Rangers Gatherings) and a large number of joint events have been held at the national level. Whatever doubts may have been entertained in the beginning, today the Indian Women have been able to establish themselves as equal partners with their brother scouts. It is not claimed that every major event has passed off without minor conflicts or irritations. But by and large, the causes of such incidents should be sought in the clash of personalities rather than in the working of the joint movement as such. Yet it is the responsibility of all of us to remind ourselves constantly that active efforts are necessary to maintain harmony between the two sections. It is also to be remembered that in the name of harmony, one section should not be pressurised and made to submit to the other. The natural processes of give and take can, in the long run be expected to remove the acerbities of personal relationships. which worried the pioneers of the joint movement greatly. They still continue to bother us.
2nd National Jamboree, Jaipur, Rajasthan - 1956.
4th National Jamboree, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh- 1964.
With the formation of the Bharat Scouts and Guides, the Indian movement had the good fortune to start a new body with about forty years’ knowledge and experience behind it. It is to the credit of the leaders of the joint movement that they had the courage and the foresight to adopt many new ideas and to experiment with new thoughts which an established conventional organisation would have hesitated to do.
In India, after long and protracted discussion, a consensus was reached by the leaders of the two sections, as a result of which they merged to form a joint movement, viz, the Bharat Scouts and Guides. It was considered that for a country with limited resources and facilities and limited trained personnel like ours, it was desirable to organise a joint Headquarters. Thus it was thought, would not only be economical but would also be conducive to the achievement of a common policy for the welfare and development of the youth as a whole in our country. The succeeding years have shown how wise this decision was. In many other matters also, the innovations introduced by India were subsequently taken up and adopted by others. To mention only a relatively small matter, India had dropped the words ‘Boy’ and ‘Girl’ from the expressions ‘Boy Scout’ and ‘Girl Guide’, as early as the merger. It was after a lapse of about sixteen years that the Advance Party appointed by the Chief Scout in England recommended the same change for that country.
The training scheme for the leaders constitutes the hub of Scouting and Guiding, much in the same way as the Patrol system constitutes the core of the movement’s operational system. As stated earlier, there was in the beginning some slight hitch over the training scheme to be adopted for the new organisation. The speck of cloud was, however, swept away by the subsequent developments when the scheme of training as prescribed by Gilwell was adopted by the Bharat Scouts and Guides in 1959. In order to suit Indian conditions, several adaptations were, however, incorporated in the scheme, on the basis of recommendations adopted at the Sandhans (Conferences of Trainers) held regularly every two years.
The establishment of the Training centre at Pachmarhi has still further strengthened the organisation. In most of the States, regular training centres, one located in the plains, and the other in the hills, were also established and are being liberally used. These training centres have separate training arenas earmarked for the Guide and
Scout Sections. Thus while both the sections enjoy the facilities of common camp sites and training centres, the common cost of running them is shared, thus reducing the overhead expenditure of the movement.
Similarly, the common National and State Headquarters, provide common office accommodation and other common facilities to both the sections. This arrangement has proved helpful in bringing the two sections closer and also in saving the needless cost of running duplicate establishments.
To an ordinary man or woman, not only in our country but in many parts of the world, there is little understanding about what the movement attempts to achieve or what possibilities it holds for instilling the right values into the boys and girls of our younger generations. By and large, Scouts and Guides are considered to be ‘good people’, and the image of a Scout or a Guide is that of a young boy or a girl trying to tie ‘knots’ or to light ‘fire’ or at the most to dress a ‘wound’ with untrained and inept fingers. The younger generation which has grown up before our eyes in the postwar period docs not, however, wish to remain satisfied with the traditional life which we have lived or the traditional programmes which we have hitherto offered them. Their dissatisfaction often bursts out in the form of indisciplined behaviour or apparently disrespectful attitudes towards the established order and values. Many try to interpret this as sign of frustration or reaction against poor economic opportunities offered to them. If this was so this phenomenon should not have occured in developed and relatively affluent countries of Europe, U.S.A. and Asia. To my mind, once the traditional fear of social sanctions disappears, the youth are not afraid of showing their resentment against a social system which does not provide them with any ‘purpose’ in life. They want a meaningful sympathetic and kindly world. It is in this context that our movement holds out the promise of a substantial contribution to the re-orientation in the values of our young men and women through the renewal of their faith in their fundamentals. This alone can sustain their faith in the capabilities of the human race. Science and technology have given us the wherewithal for material progress and have made the world a much more comfortable place to live in than it would have been otherwise, but in an indiscriminate pursuit of them, we have lost the capacity to earn true happiness and to live in tune with the world around us.
The young boys and girls should, therefore, be brought into the fold of the movement from their young age, as Cubs and Bulbuls and Scouts and Guides. In their teens, they should be induced to stay on within the movement by means of attractions offered to them of vigorous and meaningful programmes under our project of Rovering and Rangering. In our joint movement, we are in a position to take up this big task for the youth including our young men and women.
It will be no exaggerated claim to make, in the year 1968, that the Bharat Scouts and Guides constitute the only distinctive National Youth Welfare Organisation organized on a voluntary basis and based on non-political and non-sectarian principles. It provides an All India platform for about a million boys and girls of free India. They have voluntarily taken the Promise to do their best to serve their country and obey the ten Basic Laws of the movement, so as to be worthy citizens of India and of the World.
Through the practical programmes of test work, the edge of their mental aptitudes and talents is constantly sharpened and through the Promise and Law the young hearts are charged with a sense of practical idealism, which is the surest guarantee against parochial chauvinism that breeds discords and conflicts. In this great work for the young, forty five thousand adult leaders have enlisted themselves as Scouters, Guiders and Commissioners and offered their voluntary service ungrudingly for the fulfilment of their great responsibility. For generations we would remain grateful to the Founder for evolving such a method of training for the young, and for helping them to grow up into purposeful human beings. This movement came to India with many other ideas from the world outside. Today, on the eightieth birth anniversary of our beloved leader, Pandit H.N. Kunzru, we bow to him for his contributions to the growth and development of the movement for nearly half a century of his crowded life.
Copy of letter dated June 24, 1937from Lord Baden Powell, Chief Scout, to the Chief Scout Commissioner for India, Nawab of Chhattari
I have seen some far fetched statements urged against me in certain Indian newspapers which have evidently been accepted by many people as true, without having heard the other side of the case.
It happened in this way; That when explaining the aims and methods of the Scout training to a meeting of Press men, I pointed out that in view of the impossibility of seeing into the future in these very difficult times for the world education of the oncoming generation in character, health and unity was essential to form a strong nation and as the best insurance against disaster. I said that this was as necessary in India as it was in England or in Africa and in other countries that I have visited. In India, this statement was seized upon and made to imply that I was deliberately insulting India and accusing her people for want of character. Nothing was further from my intention and I am exceedingly sorry that anyone should have found in my remark a meaning which I never intended and should have felt hurt by it I have a great admiration and affection for the country. Was it likely that I should come out and visit the Scouts in my 80th year except with the motive of goodwill and admiration for the country?
In the course of my description of our methods of training in the Scout Movement I told how the key-note of our training in character was development of the sense of Honour. Incidentally, I added that in India in trying to describe this virtue to the boys we had encountered a little difficulty in the fact that we could find no word in Hindustan that actually stood for Honour in its best sense. This again was understood as meaning that I did not consider Indians to have a sense of honour, which is far from my belief. But on this interpretation of my remark, certain speakers have been urging Indian Scouts to break the Promise they had made on their honour and to leave the Movement inspite of its valuable education for them and its effect in putting Indians as on equal footing of brotherhood with the youth of other nations of the world. .
To me it was unbelievable that my remarks could be understood in this light when I have been working for over twenty years in trying to give young India the joy and good comradeship of Scouting independent of all political, religious or military aims, for no other object than their own good. I am extremely sorry that this should have given any anxiety to those good men, the Scouts, who have worked so hard successfully in building a strong and sensible citizenhood for India.
In explanation of his remarks the Chief Scout had written the following letter to the Editor, Sunday Statesman, Calcutta, which had been published in its issue of 13 th June, 1937. Sir,
I am sincerely grateful to your article on the report of my having malinged the people of India when commenting on the Boy Scout Movement there. Your warning that such sensational reports should be taken with a grain of salt was amply justified in this case, since nothing was further from my intention than to cast aspersions on India and Indians.
As might have been inferred from my visit my addresses and my writings, I am on the contrary, anxious to do anything in my power to help, through the Scout training, the education authorities in their efforts to fit the oncoming generation to better lives and their country, or, as we put it in our Scout slogan, “ To make Happy, Healthy and Helpful citizen,”
The version of my interview with the Press in England which appears to have gone to India shows lack of intelligence or wilful distortion on the part of a reporter. I don’t suppose, however, that it will have deceived my friends or those who appreciate what we are doing through the Scout Movement.
Scouting has been taken up and encouraged by the educationists all over the world as teaching character, health, and co-operation in service-qualities which are needed just as much in England and in all countries, as in India. Indian Scouts have not only developed these qualities among themselves but have extended, by personal expenditions, that sense of brotherhood with other nations about the world. And this is a great step, towards international goodwill and peace.
Yours etc.
BADEN POWELLLondon, May, 31.
[Prof. Humayun Kabir is well known in India and abroad as a distinguished educationist, constructive thinker and versatile writer. He was a close associate of Late Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and as such was directly connected with the merger talks in the early fifties. He served on the first National Council of the Bharat Scouts and Guides.
As an educationalist, Prof. Kabir appreciates the possibilities of the Movement in helping the youth to build up their basic value in life].
I am glad to learn that the Bharat Scouts and Guides are bringing out a commemoration volume on the occasion of the eightieth birthday of Pandit Hridayanath Kunzru. Pandit Kunzru has served the nation in many ways and has brought to all his activities a high degree of honesty, integrity and sincerity of purpose which have commanded respect of even those who do not agree with him. Indian public life today is suffering from loss of standards and needs re-dedication to the values of life especially by the young. Of Pandit Kunzru’s many services to the nation, one of the most significant is his contribution to the growth of the Scouts and Guides movement in India. This offers to the rising generations an opportunity to serve singly and collectively. Pandit Kunzru’s own life is a shining example of what a single individual can do through sincere and devoted efforts.
Among those who helped Pandit Kunzru to unify the Scout movement in India and develop it on sound national lines, perhaps the outstanding name is that of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. It was in fact due to Maulana Azad’s inspiration that the two strong and rival Scout movements of India were unified soon after independence The Scout movement established by Baden Powell and spread throughout the country but it suffered from one disability because of its fairly close association with the Government of the day. This kept many nationalists away and the Hindustan Scout Association was started mainly in order to offer a parallel organisation to those who accepted the basic principles of the Scout movement but did not like its official colour. Immediately after independence, Maulana Azad invited the leaders of the two movements and suggested that the time had come to unify them and build a truly strong and dedicated Scout and Guide Movement throughout the country.
Dr. Tarachand, who was then the Education Secretary, was asked by Maulana Azad to work out the principles of the merger and frame, in consultation with the leaders of the two organisations, a new constitution in which the strong points of either could be preserved. Anyone who deals with public life knows that vested interests grow even in philanthropic organisations. Men who take up a cause out of pure idealism often become attached to the mechanics of the work at the cost of its underlying spirit and principle. It reflects great credit on the leaders of the two organisations and Dr. Tarachand’s skill as a negotiator that the difficult task of merging the two organisations with their branches spread throughout India was carried out smoothly and efficaciously. There is little doubt that Maulana Azad’s outstanding personality and unqualified support for a unified organisation helped greatly in achieving this result.
Maulana Azad will always be remembered as one of the builders of modem India. He was one of the first among Indian political leaders to realise that the question of Indian freedom was not an isolated issue but closely linked with the liberation of colonial peoples throughout the world. Just as Tagore was the first unofficial ambassador of India in the world of culture, Maulana Azad may be regarded as the first unofficial Foreign Minister of a free India not yet born. His travels in early youth throughout Western Asia and parts of Africa and Europe helped to link up the Indian freedom struggle with the freedom struggle of the peoples throughout this vast region. He also realised from early life that the future of a
nation depends on the quality of its manpower. That is why after independence he chose education as his special responsibility and sought to build up a national system which will be fully reflective of the rich and variegated multi-religious and multilingual culture of India. It was the same concern with the training of the young which made Maulana Azad so anxious to develop the Scout and Guide Movement as an instrument for developing initiative, enterprise and a sense of responsibility among the young.
The two outstanding characteristics in Maulana Azad’s personality were his capacity of clear and rational analysis and his fearlessness and integrity in the pursuit of his ideals. He never compromised on the principles and was yet always willing to tolerate the minor failings of men and women in their daily life. He condemned evil but had compassion for the evil-doer, for he believed that men are by nature attracted to the good and act wrongly only out of weakness. He also knew that no one is absolutely pure or absolutely evil. This enabled him to work with men of different opinions and yet maintain the highest standard of integrity in private and public life. India needed leaders of the highest idealism and personal integrity to achieve independence but today she needs even more leaders of the same quality for making independence real to hundreds of millions of her suffering children. The young can do nothing better than to strive for cleanliness in personal life and service to the community.
MAULANA ABUL KALAM AZAD
By Noshir N. Pundole
[Shri Noshir N. Pundole as Scout in his boyhood, kept up his interest in the movement and served it in different capacities. He took a leading part in the talks of merger between the three constituent bodies. He was State Chief Commissioner of the Bombay Bharat Scouts and Guides till 1957. International minded as he was, he took a great deal of interest in the Lions which he served in different capacities not only in India but also as the International Director.J.
Although many men and women can take the credit for having made it possible for the Scout and Guide Movements in India to be merged in a single united organisation, there will always be some who will stand out as the architects of the merger. When the story of these men and women is written, the name of Shri Mangaldas Pakvasa would stand out amongst them.
It was as the Governor of the State of Madhya Pradesh that Shri Mangaldas was responsible for hosting many a meeting of the Merger Committee and helping different parties to the merger understand and appreciate each other’s point of view. The present writer representing one of the three organisations for the merger and occasion to come into very close contact with Shri Mangaldas at that time, a privilege which, over the years, grew into revered friendship for an elder.
(a leader and negotiator bestowed with immense amount of tact, perserverance and understanding)Shri Mangaldas Pakvasa though 86 years young today, still embodies in himself all that is good in India. Born in the city of Bombay, he was educated at the Gokuldas Tej pal High School, of Elphinstone High School and Elipnstone College from where he graduated in the year 1902 and obtained the Dakshina Scholarship, Scholastic acumen was his forte and he passed the final L.L.B. in 1904 in the first class, and became a successful solicitor after completing the Solicitor’s Examination in 1907 to become a partner in a leading firm of solicitors in Bombay. Shri Mangaldas was attracted to the Non-violent Movement of Mahatma Gandhi and took part in Dandi March. In 1921, he decided to give up his profession and give all his time to Mahatma Gandhiji’s Moverment. A son of the soil, truly dedicated to the concept. Service to mankind is service to God”, Shri Mangaldas started in 1930 a Seva Ashram at Maroli near Surat called “Kasturba Seva Ashram” to serve the poor of the surrounding area at Maroli in the State of Gujrat. Participating in Mahatma Gandhi’s movement, he went to jail in 1932 and was in solitary confinement with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at the Nasik for about one and a half months in the year 1933. Shri Mangaldas’ legal acumen and academic training stood him in good stead, when in 1937 he was elected to the then Bombay Legislative Council, on the Congress ticket. It was a unique feature of Parliamentary politics of those days that even though the Congress was then in a minority, he was elected President of the Bombay Legislative Council, an office which he held to the unstinted admiration of all the political parties then constituting the Legislative Council.
When India became independent and the National Flag was unfurled on 15 of August 1947 on all the citadels of political power, the choice fell on a few distinguished Indians to head the various States constituting independent India. It was no wonder that Shri Mangaldas was elected to be the Governor of the erstwhile State of C.P. and Berar, which later came to be known as Madhya Pradesh. He served as the Governor of Madhya Pradesh for a full term of five years.
Although he was keenly interested in the work of the Hindustan Scout Association as its President during his stay in Bombay, on his assumption of the Governorship of the State of C.P. and Berar, he could not continue to avoid any office in the Scout Organisation. He was however, one of those friends of the movement who kept the doors of the Raj Bhavan always open at Nagpur to the
MANGAL DAS PAKVASAMeeting of he Interin Council held at Government House Nagpur on 25th November 1950. Shri Mangal Das Pakvasa is addressing the members
On many an occasion, when the points of views of the different parties appeared to be so wide apart as to render the chances of agreement remote, Shri Mangaldas with his ready wit and natural sense of humor was able to get round the contending parties with remarkable ease. It was his belief in togetherness that paved the way for the eventual merger of the Scout and Guide, Associations in India.
The services of Shri Mangaldas for the good of the country were always in demand. He served as Acting Governor of Maharashtra on three occasions and as Acting Governor of Mysore on four different occasions, after he completed his term as the Governor of Madhya Pradesh.
He is actively associated with several educational and social institutions, notably the Bombay State Adult Education Committee, the Bombay Historical Society, the Young Men’s Hindu Association, Hindu Din Daya Sangh and several others.
The youth of India today, as it looks to the future with confidence, cannot forget the debt of gratitude it owes to those men and women of vision who had helped to unite the Scout and Guide Associations in our great country. Among them Shri Mangaldas’ name will always stand out. May be blessed with many more years of life in the service of the country, and may his wise counsel be always available to the Bharat Scouts and Guides.
[Shri Vir Deva Vir comes of a well- known family of educationists who had served the undivided Punjab till the partition of the country. He himself has devoted his life to learning and the pursuit of teaching. He is at present, State Organizing Commissioner of the Punjab and Haryana State Bharat Scouts and Guides].
“He is a patriot, every inch of him. He devotes the whole of his time and every day of the year to the country’s work in the sphere of politics, education and social service. A better informed man there is not in the whole country’, in any party or community; and with knowledge wide and varied are combined a powerful brain and untiring industry, his character is the highest”.
This was the tribute paid by the late Shri C. Y. Chintamani, the great liberal leader, to Pandit H.N. Kunzru.
It was at Allahabad that I first met this great man. I had imagined him to be a big ‘boss’, striking awe in poor mortals like’ us. My surprise, however, knew no bounds, when I saw a frail and slender man, full of unbounded enthusiasm, and disarming one with his bewitching smile and affable courtesy. His magnetic personality exercised a peculiar fascination over all those who came in contact with him. He has a peculiar knack of eliciting co-operation from anyone. His life is a saga of dedication to the cause of social service and amelioration of human suffering.
Pandit Kunzru was born in the year 1887 on the 1st October in a distinguished Kashmiri family at Delhi, of an equally illustrious parent, Pandit Ajodhianath. Pandit Hridayanath Kunzru was the second son in the family. In his boyhood he was very much influnced by the noble qualities of his father, and inherited the latter’s patriotism, love of public service and fearlessness, the traits of character, which later on in life, were destined to make him a distinguished son of India and a great leader.
He received his early education in Agra and got graduated in Science as well as in Arts from the Allahabad University in 1905. He set his heart on an educational career and got himself enrolled for the D.Sc. course of the university. But he could not complete this course on account of the spell of poor health from which he was suffering at this time.
Pandit Hridayanath came in touch with one of the great Indians of the country, Shri Gopal Krishna Gokhale during the latter’s North India tour in early 1907. At Allahabad, in February 1907, Gokhale in one of his speeches said, “ I want India to take her proper place among the great nations of the world- politically, individually, in religion, in literature, in science and in art”. It is zest for reforms in every sphere of life and his liberal political thoughts influenced young Kunzru and drew the latter close to him. A born leader as Gokhale was, he did not take much time to spot the qualities and potentialities of the young man. The deep affection, respect and trust in which the two held each other was based on a complete understanding between the leader and the disciple. Although Gopal Krishna Gokhale left this world prematurely early in 1915, his constructive political thought, his attempt to develop a high standard of conduct in public life, and his contributions to the building up of a band of selfless, devoted and high principled men for the service of the country left a deep mark on contemporary India and influenced many of our national leaders like Gandhiji, C.R. Das, Pandit Motilal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and many others.
Shri Gopal Krishna Gokhale established the Servants of India Society on the 12th June 1905, with the object of training up National Missionaries for the service of India. The members of the society were required to take a vow to dedicate their lives to the nation and its cause, and to be content with whatever allowance the Society might decide to pay them. At the early age of twenty two, Pandit Kunzru decided to accept this hard and austere life,
in order to dedicate himself to the service of the country without asking for any recognition or reward. He was appointed President of the Society in 1936, and continues to hold this position, and to inspire its members to lead the life of a missionary, of which he is a living example.
The first assignment which Gokhale gave to young Kunzru was to accompany Mr. H.S. L. Polak, Gandhiji’s colleague in South Africa, on his India tour. At the persuasion of Polak, Gokhale agreed to send Kunzru to England to study at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he had the good fortune of studying the Social Science under illustrious professors like Alfred Marshall, Westermark and J.N. Keynes.
On his return from England, Pandit Kunzru worked under Gokhale as his secretary, and was very closely associated with the latter till his death.
He joined active politics and served as one of the secretaries of the Indian National Congress. But when the Liberal Party was formed in 1918, he, along with a number of leading members of the Congress Party and the Servants of India Society, joined the National Liberal Federation. Since then, he has remained as a leading figure in the political field, and has never hesitated to speak out his mind fearlessly on the vital issues facing the country. His impressive presence and utterances in the State Legislature and later in Parliament, have always commanded the respectful attention of his Legislative colleagues and whenever he has spoken he has been listened to with deep respect.
He started his active legislative career as a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly in 1921. Later on, he was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly in 1926. He resigned his membership of the Assembly in 1930 as a protest against the repressive policy of the then Government of India towards the Civil Disobedience Movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. He was again re-elected to the Legislative Council formed after the Reforms of 1936 and continued to be its member till it was dissolved. He was a member of the Constituent Assembly of India (1946-50) and also of the Provisional Parliament (1950-52). He was elected a Member of the Council of states in 1952 and continued to be its member till 1964.
He has been acclaimed as one of the veteran Parliamentarians of India. One of his co-Parliamentarians once said “His ringing voice spells truth. He does not ‘pickle’ truth to suit different
tastes. Pt. Kunzru cuts through to the fact; it is not for him to see who got cut in the process.” Another person commenting on his work as a Parliamentarian, observed “Pt. Kunzru never wounds, and seldom loses his temper. He is incapable of an ungenerous thought.”
As a representative of the Indian Parliament, he contributed a great deal to the development of inter-parliamentary Conferences held under the auspices of the inter-parliamentary Union. As a member of the Legislature, Government entrusted him with important responsibilities by appointing him member and Chairman of many important Committees and Commissions, e.g. the States Re-organisation Commission; the Committee for the Co-ordination and Integration of the schemes operating in the field of Physical Education, Recreation and Youth Welfare; the Indian Railway Enquiry Commission; Armed Forces Nationalisation Committee, to name only a few.
As a politician he has been liberal; but this liberalism is dominated by true nationalism. In 1930 he resigned the membership of the Central Legislative Assembly as a protest against the repressive policy of the then Government of India. In 1943, when Gandhiji’s life was endangered in jail, he appealed to the British Government to release him, in the following words:
“Gandhi is the biggest national asset. The like of him is seen once in centuries. To save his life is to serve the interest of international goodwill. His death, under detention will leave a trail of bitterness for years to come. In the interests of elementary justice Mr. Gandhi should be released.”
Treatment of Indians abroad attracted Pandit Kunzru’s attention almost from the time of his joining the Servants of India Society. He was elected President of the East African Indian National Congress in 1929, and led a delegation to England in 1930. He attended the British Commonwealth Relations Conference in Australia in 1938 as Chairman of the Indian delegation, and was a member of the Indian delegation to the Pacific Relations Conference held in U.S.A. in 1945.
From his Master, Shri Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Pandit Kunzru learnt that political freedom by itself would not solve the problems of India. He realized early in his life that the struggle for freedom should be accompanied by vigorous measures to spread education on the one hand, and by reforms in social habits and practices and
A DREAm CAmE TRUEin the working of social institutions on the other. From Gokhale, Pandit Kunzru also learnt the fundamental principle underlying all effective political action, viz. that no reform, whether in the political, educational or social field, can be lasting unless it is sustained by public opinion. Further, it was necessary to build up appropriate institutions in order to radiate sound thoughts and instil them into the minds of the people.
With these ends in view, Pandit Kunzru worked relentlessly to build up many major public institutions in this country and served them in various capacities. Mention need be made only of a few of these as the Indian Council of World Affairs, the U.P. Swadeshi League, U.P. Harijan Sevak Sangh, the All India Seva Samiti, the Film-Cultural Association, the Children’s Film Society, the Bharatiya Adimjati Sevak Sangh, the Indian School of International Studies, the Hindustan Scout Association, and later on the Bharat Scouts and Guides.
He was deeply inspired in his work in the social and educational fields by the example of Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya. In a way, the two great leaders, Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Madan Mohan Malviya influenced him deeply from the beginning of his career as a social reformer, educationist, political thinker and Parliamentarian.
His leadership in the field of Youth Welfare was distinctive. He joined with Dr. Annie Besant, Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya and many others in creating public opinion in the country for the admission of Indian boys into scouting. Ultimately, along with Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya and with the help of Pandit Shri Ram Bajpai, he opened a branch in the Seva Samiti for establishing the Seva Samiti Scouts in 1918. From this time on, along with many others, he dreamed of a unified National Movement of Scouting. For various reasons this unity could not be achieved immediately. It was, however, he who was one of the architects of the post-war developments in Scouting which eventually led to the merger on 7 November, 1950. As the first National Commissioner of the unified movement in the Bharat Scouts and Guides he served the youth and inspired them to lead a clean and noble life.
Pandit Kunzru’s balanced judgement, steadfast devotion to duty, assiduous pursuit of facts, his austere life, and above all his integrityall these have left an indelible stamp on the men and women who have had the privilege of working with him.
First meeting of the National Council of Bharat Scouts and Guides held on 1st November 1953 with First National Commissioner Shri. H. N. Kunzuru
The Hall in the ADMINISTRATIVE BLOCK of the NATIONAL TRAINING CENTRE Pachmarhi is named as KUNZRU HALL in recognition of the contribution of PANDIT HRIDAYANATH KUNZRU towards the formation and development of the Bharat Scouts and Guides.
Kunzuru Hall
By M. Hidayatullah
Chief Justice of India Supreme Court
[ Chief Justice M. Hidayatulla was closely associated with Shri Vivan Bose when the latter was carrying on the merger talks with the Hindustan Scout Association and the All India Girl Guide Association. Later, he helped in the drafting of the constitution of the merged body, viz. the Bharat Scouts and Guides. Chief Justice Hidayatullah is an ardent Scout himself and served the Movement in different capacities. Inspite of his heavy responsibilities as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India, he retains his interest in the Movement and continues to serve it as the member of the Council of the International Fellowship of Former Scouts and Guides].
Man, it is said, is composed of many honours. Vivian Bose is no exception. To write of him is not easy. I can write a great deal about the splendid judgements he wrote in the High Court and the Supreme Court, his vigorous dissents which were later accepted as the views of the Court, and his immaculate style. But this is not the right place. Therefore, I want to be personal, to give a vignette of a personal kind touching upon incidents which have been a part of my life made much richer by his company and kindness. They show what a mixture of greatness, generosity and bonhommie he is. I want to do this in the atmosphere of the camp fire so well-known to Boy
Scouts and Girl Guides. I lift the veil on many incidents of our lives and share them with others if for nothing else than to show what kind of a man Vivan Bose is.
Mr. Vivan Bose, Mr. Justice Vivian Bose and Vivian represent the stages through which my friendship with Vivian has passed. I remember distinctly, as if it was only yesterday, my first acquaintance with him. The year was 1924, and the place the tennis courts of the Y.M.C.A; Nagpur. We had assembled there to draw up the Constitution of the Nagpur University Union. Why the tennis court is chosen to draw up constitutions, no research academy has attempted to find out. But tennis court it was in line with the drawing up of the French and the Nehru Constitution. Vivian presided, and was chosen as the first president of the union. Some of us inquired who the nattyyoung man was and were told, “Don’t you know Mr. Vivian Bose ? He is a Barrister-at-Law”. It was added, “ He was a grandson of Sir Bipin Krishna Bose”. Whether I was impressed by his own titles or by his connection with the celebrated scholar, jurist, humanist and philanthropist I do not know. Not that his connections have ever mattered to Vivian. He was great in his own right. I sought an introduction and stood awed in his presence The meetings of the Union were the biggest attraction of the week (bar the Tarzan Serials). ‘We met on Tuesdays and took part in the debates ably conducted by him. Students were only students then and we had an innocent share in political problems. The Union rose to great heights. Vivian was firm, kind and occasionally even humorous in the conduct of the meetings. The Union was never the same when he ceased to be the President.
Time passes and passed my examinations with it. Three years at Cambridge and the life abroad lessened the impact of Indian college days. I returned as a Barrister in 1930. Vivian was then prominent Advocate in the Judicial Commissioner’s Court at Nagpur. I watched him and studied him. His success was immediate. Soon he was appointed Government Advocate. The Late Mr. Justice J. Sen (then Mr. Sen), perhaps the dearest friend Vivian had, asked me to watch how Vivian handled a hard case. Sen described his method as akin to the manners of a physician at the bedside of a very sick patient. Vivian often got away with such cases in a remarkable way. His advocacy was so compelling.
I caught Vivian’s eye even in those days. We had many common interests. He was interested in Radios and so was 1.1 had acquired
CAmE TRUEa rather primitive set which I could not work. It was a battery set requiring different tappings for different leads and there were no instructions. Vivian offered to work it for me. He invited me to dinner and after Mrs. Bose withdrew, Vivian tried his hand. The radio gave out almost all the noises except those we were keen to get. Vivian would twist this knob and that knob; test this component and that; change the leads all the way round. I was ready to give up but not to Vivian. Many dinners followed and at last the radio was made to work. That is Vivian. When he takes up a matter he finishes it.
All this time my practice was also looking up. Soon we began to cross swords as lawyers. Sometimes we appeared on the same side. One such case was a celebrity in those days. The Nawab of Bhopal had prosecuted the Editor of the Rivasat and Sen and I were briefed for the Nawab. Vivian was Government Advocate. We were asked to instruct Vivian as he would have to argue the Government’s side of the case. We did not attend Vivian’s chamber but went to his house, lunched with him and drew our daily fees. Vivian grumbled,: What the h x x x do I get out of this?. Except that I give you both a good lunch”. But he had his return. He made us to work to earn our fee. Later the Nawab briefed in turn. Sir Abdur Rehman, Sir C.R Ramaswami Iyer and Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru and Sen I could sit back and enjoy the fun and our fees. Vivian’s arguments were highly regarded by the three eminent lawyers, who had also argued the case.
Soon Vivian became a Judicial Commissioner and later Judge of the Nagpur High Court. Some distance developed between us. I appeared frequently before him. In one case where a contractor in felling a tree caused it to fall on a house and damaged it. I had to appear for the employer. The only plea was that the contractor was an independent contractor and he alone was liable. I read many books and found some cases of the Supreme Court of Canada approved by the Privy Council. But they were in French. I boldly took them into Court and cited them. As I read them Vivian listened and held his peace. When I finished he asked, “Now tell me what did these Judges say. It is bad enough to read the rulings in English. Have you no authority in English?” I answered. “They seem to be against me. These are the only ones that support my case”. Immediately Vivian was all attention. He asked for a translation, compared with the original. I won the case and a compliment from him. No other Judge would have looked into those authorities. Vivian’s passion for justice was my asset.
I followed Vivian as the Government Advocate (although not immediately) and then was appointed Advocate General. I remember the first case I argued as Advocate General. It involved a murder charge and there were the usual chance witnesses who testified to have seen the accused running away in the early hours of the morning when they were in the fields. Vivian had his own names for such witnesses. All that I could say was that the Sessions Judge, who had heard the witnesses and seen them deposed, believed them. Vivian got into a passion (not for justice this time). He said “ I don’t have to see them to disbelieve them.” There could be no argument after that I was happy on the whole that he was of that opinion which I secretly shared. His approach was not legal but human, a rare thing in Courts.
There were two cases in which I had the worst as Advocate General although I stood the ground boldly. They were preventive detention cases. In such case Vivian could sear the Government when he found the detention unjustified. But as Government was far away and I was present, I got instant grilling. It was tough time for the state and its council but it did enormous good. I got a better standing and understanding with Government. A good many detenues were released before the cases came up Government thought better to release them than to try to stand his searching scrutiny.
In one case I had to use all my ingenuity to mollify him. It was a murder case and the Session Judge had rewarded imprisonment for life. Government applied to have the sentence enhanced and I appeared as Advocate General. The sentence was enhanced to death. The next week Government commuted the sentence of death to life imprisonment. Vivian summoned me and began to rate Government, its advisers and its chief counsel, He asked, “Do you think it is all a joke or what?” I asked him to be more explicit. I had no idea what he was driving at. He then reminded me of the case and showed me a news item. I had to try hard to explain to him that even in England the Attorney General often gave an undertaking in advance before asking for interference, that the right sentence should be imposed by Courts and that clemency was a matter for the State and not Judges. It required great cajolery and artifice to modify him and make him forget the case.
When I became a Judge I often sat with him. Vivian had great reputation for deciding the most complicated cases by pronouncing judgement the moment the arguments concluded. I knew I would
have to do the same. I had to be on guard. In a big case he suddenly asked me to deliver the judgement. I had expected that he would do this. He would not hear that the judgement be reserved. There were too many accused, too many witnesses and too many documents. Internally I cursed his speed and began and carried on by sheer will power. I knew Vivian was chuckling inside although he made a pretence of reading the next case. But when I finished he had a kind word to say. He was always very fair to his colleagues and not a bit jealous of what they did or achieved. The law reports are full of his unstained praise of his colleagues’ work even to the point of admitting that he was wrong. Such candour or generosity comes rarely to people.
Vivian picked on me early as his Provincial Secretary in the Boy Scout Organisation. His choice of Secretaries was remarkable. He chose me, Dixit (now Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh), Joshi and Kaushalendra Rao (both became Judges) and Kedar who, if he had not died young, would have also become a Judge. The Movement was then divided into two B.P. Boy Scouts and Hindustan Scouts. We belonged to the former. For a considerable time we had to carry on with our private money as we had no grant. Vivian gave us all the encouragement and support even when I became the Provincial Commissioner in his place. He attended our training camps, rallies and even camp fires. But for him we might have lost heart. His presence was always a signal for thoroughness. He would not approve of shoddy performance.
I was associated with Vivian in the Merger which resulted in the Bharat Scouts and Guides. The report dawn up by the Bharat Scouts and Guides does not name me. I was one of the two trustees who signed and also drafted the articles at the crucial meeting in Tarachand’s chamber in Delhi. Vivian became the Chief Commissioner (Scouts) and 1 was elected Vice President of the National Council.
After Vivian became the Chief Commissioner the Pachmarhi Scheme came to be formed. Vivian was very keen that I should visit the site. He had then joined the Supreme Court and I had occupied the Chief Justice’s chair in Madhya Pradesh. At his pressing request I visited Pachmarhi and we stayed together. Vivian was full of Pachmarhi which he considers better than any hill station in India.
Now there was at that time a lame man-eating leopard which was infesting Pachmarhi and making a nuisance of himself. Vivian would go out into the jungle armed with only a walking stick. I carried a rifle
with me. Mrs Bose and my wife were with us. The Scout Motto is “Be Prepared” and I thought I acted in keeping with the motto. Vivian scoffed at my gun. But I thought it better to bear his flings than face the leopard with my bare hands or rely on his walking stick. But every few minutes Vivian would come out, “ I hope you won’t shoot me by mistake. Point the gun towards the ground”. I did not tell him that if I shot him it would not be by mistake.
The problem of water at Pachmarhi was pressing. Vivian disclosed to me that he was a water-diviner. When I looked incredulous he promptly broke a twig, It shaped like the letter Y and with the two prongs in his hand and the point towards the ground started pacing up and down. I watched. He said the twig would bend down where there was water. I told him the story of another water- diviner who was beaten up when the twig found water in a milkman’s jars. He only said, “You will believe it when you see it.” He pointed out several places where he said there was water and tube-wells could be installed. I also dressed a twig and confirmed the places. Vivian pronounced me a water-diviner’ adding ‘one man in five is a water - diviner.’ On that basis, of course, there was a 20% chance that I was perhaps one. I have not put my powers to test, partly because I have not had a chance and partly because I have not much faith in my own powers. I wish to divine oil which will be more profitable.
Shri Madan Mohan, Justice Vivian Bose and Shri Mangal Das Pakvasa with Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru - 1959
I got involved in Vivian’s magic. Vivian did all kinds of magical tricks aided and abetted by me, although he attributed his powers to his Tibetan ancestor which was nothing more than Tibetan incense burner which Mrs. Bose probably picked up in some Chore Bazar What did Vivian not achieve?. Mind reading, clairvoyance, levitation, Houdine tricks, sawing a lady in two, etc., etc. were in his repertoire. We would easily have given up being judges and blossomed into a performing troupe. The piece de resistance of such shows was Vivian’s ability to come out of a box which was locked, sealed and corded, and in which he was placed hand-cuffed and tied in a sack. He took only one minute to get out and took another minute to get inside again. Only once did he fail and we had to release him. He gave up the trick in future. I was required to give an exhibition of stopping the pulse in the arms and legs but gave it up after a warning from a doctor friend.
Vivian loves motoring. He has done the journey from India to England by road. He took his little son, 19 months old, with him. His inability to converse by signs was demonstrated in Iran where he put on the pantomime of a hen laying an egg to make the persons get him eggs! Some years later he performed the return journey also by road. As Vivian drives flat out at 20 miles per hour he might have been on the road still but for the fact that Mrs. Bose drove part of the way. He once drove me to Agra and nearly drove me mad also. We were on the road the whole day. During that time I could have driven to Agra, returned to Delhi and gone back again to Agra before he reached. He has never forgiven me for driving with Mrs. Bose as a passenger at 80 miles per hour in a treasure hunt.
He has travelled the whole of Europe in a bus fitted like a caravan living in it and camping where he would. When he was planning the bus and its fittings, he had drawn a diagram of the available space on verandah and we had to sit in chairs within the area while he took measurements. It was days before the plans were perfected and we had to sit for hours and shift our chairs for him. We even chased similar buses to their destination to study the lay-out of their seats! Adventure, outdoor life and rugged existence are the keynotes of Vivian’s life.
As President of the International Commission of Jurists. Vivian has travelled to almost all the countries of the world. Although he was allowed First Class he travelled Economy to save money for the Association. He preferred to live in his bus rather than sqander money of the Association in luxury hotels. The Association would have gladly paid for them. Such is the sense of duty. He lived like
a Scout. He was received with great fondness by all. His fame as a great judge, a great scout and an intensely human person always preceded him. He hated V.I. P. treatment and travelled almost incognito. He hates parties and fanfare.
Vivian is intensely human. In Pachmarhi my little daughter (who was a blue baby) could not accompany us to the beauty points. I offered to stay behind with her. Vivian would not hear of it. He carried her in his arms to all the places. I was ashamed. I could not do so, not being accustomed to outdoor life as he was. A much older man thus gave joy to a weak child who was pining to be with us but could not walk. It has left a lasting mark on my heart. Vivian may have forgotten it. I shall never forget it.
Vivian’s friendship is a treasure. A man of few words but intense feeling. You sense him around you even when he is silent. I have sat with him for hours, both of us reading but it is enough to know that he is there. No wonder he has a larger circle of friends than any man. I know and this circle is all round the world.
Work for Vivian is not a bore but a pleasure. He is working on something or the other all the time. In his company one has to work and work hard. He has made his life by dint of hard work and great sense of duty. No task is too great for him and no work is too mean.
It is rare to find a man who has done so much or achieved so many things. A successful lawyer, a great judge, a seasoned scout, photographer, magician, water-diviner and traveller. What more could we expect of a man? Vivian could be everything except a racing driver.
[Smt. Zinobia R. Ranji served the former State of Hyderabad and later on the Andhra Pradesh as State Commissioner (Guides) of the Bharat Scouts and Guides and was elected Chief Commissioner (Guides) of India in 1967. She is still holding this position.]
Long flowing Khaki uniforms, enormous felt hats, long staves and flowing scarves attracted the attention of a young girl in Simla, who was determined to join this enthusiastic group who were the centre of attraction every week. Persistent, eager and keen to do so. It was only in 1921, while in Bombay, that she got an opportunity to join the Girl Guides. This young enthusiastic girl was no other than our former Chief Commissioner for India, Mrs. Captain. This was the beginning of her long and devoted association in the service of the Guide Movement.
Queenie H. C. Captain (nee Alice Procter Powell) was born in a train enroute to Bombay on 25th September, 1890 and she has travelled far and wide ever since her father was an official on the G I. P. Railway and since transfers were part of their life, the children were packed off to boarding schools as soon as they were old enough to leave home. As the eldest of the family of six children, Queenie soon learned to help mother with the younger ones and to take a share in the household duties. This early training stood her in good stead in the years to come and laid the foundation for her very happy and varied Guide career. The family as a whole was tremendously interested in the beginning of Scouting and the wonderful camps at Brownsea Island run by B.P. which came to them each week in “Home Chat”. Two brothers joined the Jabalpur (Christ Church
QUEENIE CAPTAIN 117
Boys’ School) Co. under Col. Pakenham Walsh. This is believed to be the first Scout Company registered in India.
Queenie was educated in St. Peter’s Girls’ High School at Khandala and has the happiest memories of her school days and of All Saints Sisters and Cowley Fathers whose example influenced her greatly. After completing her schooling she contemplated becoming a Music Teacher, but in 1912 she joined the St. John’s College, Agra Commercial Department and after securing several diplomas she joined the staff of St. John’s Collegiate School in 1914 and taught there for three years. In 1916 she married Mr. W.H. Glander but was bereaved in less than two years.
In 1919 she came to Bombay and after reconciling herself to city life she joined the Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics and taught there for over five years. During this period she devoted all her spare time to Guiding and held various positions in the Movement ranging from Patrol Leader to District Captain. There were only nine Guide Companies in Bombay at that time. So along with Lady Hayward, the Provincial Commissioner, and Mrs. Pickford, Divisional Commissioner, they set upon a vigorous recruiting campaign which produced splendid results. She considers it a great honour to have been present in 1921 at the Rally on the occasion of the first visit to India of Lord & Lady Baden Powell. When they again came to India in 1937 she was a full-fledged District Commissioner and was present at the Rally at the Copperage to celebrate the 80th birthday of the Founder B.P.
In 1925 she married Mr. H.C. Captain and with his help and encouragement she now devoted all her time to her family and Guiding. As she now resided at Bandra, she was very soon appointed District Secretary and the District Commissioner of Bandra and the suburbs. Those were wonderful days with Guide Companies springing up everywhere, and especially in the Bombay Municipal Schools. “Captain Villa” soon became the Mecca of all Guides and Guiders; and Fridays were reserved for Tea and Guiders’ meetings and trainings. Camping too was very popular and Mrs. Captain having been trained and tested for her Camper’s licence by Mrs. Miller, the Scout Camp Chief, was one of the first to receive her camper’s licence in India. In 1946, on the sudden death of Mrs. Mehere Lalkaka the Provincial Commissioner, Mrs. Captain, acted as Provincial Commissioner for several months, and was later invited by Lady Colville to become Provincial Commissioner of Bombay. She very reluctantly declined this honour and explained to Colville that she had already been invited by Lady Crofton. Chief
Commissioner of the Girl Guide Association to stand for election as Chief Commissioner at the ensuing General Council meeting to be held at Jaipur in January, 1947. Lady Colville responded to this information by promptly offering the use of the Government House grounds at Ganeshkhind, Poona, for the next All India Camp. This offer was gladly accepted and a delightful Guiders’ and Commissioners’ Camp was held there at Eastertide. It was at this camp that Mrs. Captain received a telegram from Lady Mountbatten summoning her to New Delhi. Everyone wondered what this meant, and Sir John and Lady Colville insisted that she should go as soon as possible. Coming events were shaping themselves rapidly and one had to ‘Be Prepared’. This meeting with the Viceroy and Lady Mountbatten left the new Chief Commissioner much encouraged and fortified and confident that the Guides had a great part to play in the life of the Nation. Soon after 15th August 1947, independence came to India and every Scout and Guide in the land was committed to newer and greater service. Events moved quickly and very soon our First Governor General and Lady Mountbatten made it clear that they felt it was in the interests of the New India that the Guide and Scout Associations should merge into one organisation rather than be three separate Associations. A Merger Committee was appointed with the following members to deal with the propositions:
Shri Mangaldas Pakvasa, Governor of the Central Province, Chairman.
Dr. Tarachand, Secretary to the Ministry of Education Pandit H.N. Kunzru, National Commissioner, Hindustan Scouts Association.
Mr. Justice Vivian Bose, Chief Commissioner, Boy Scouts Association, Mrs. H.C. Captain, Chief Commissioner, Girl Guides Association.
Meetings were held at Government House, Nagpur then back to Bombay, Delhi and Allahabad to report to their respective Associations; again assembling at Nagpur for further discussions for
Shri Mangaldas Pakvasa
Dr. Tarachand Pandit H.N. Kunzru
Justice Vivian Bose Mrs. H.C. Captain
reconciling points of differences and drawing up a new Constitution to meet the varying needs of Cubs, Scouts and Scouters and that of Bulbuls, Guides and Guiders. The meetings were not always pleasant, but Shri Pakvasa played a very important part in bringing about understanding and harmony among all parties by appealing to their patriotism and goodwill and insisting that this was the best thing that could happen to every Guide and Scout in the Land. He allayed the fears of the Guides who were apprehensive that they might be dominated completely by the Scouts by sheer weight of numbers, if nothing else, and told us with a great sense of humor that the Guides had nothing to fear as they were quite capable of looking after themselves, when a woman will be National Commissioner of Bharat Scouts and Guides”. These negotiations went on for nearly three years; then the scouts of the two associations amalgamated in 1950 with Dr. Kunzru as National Commissioner of the newly constituted Bharat Scouts and Guides, and Mr. Justice Vivian Bose as Chief Commissioner, Scouts. The Guides Association took a few months longer to merge with the Scouts as much correspondence had to be carried on with London and the World Committee reassuring them that the Law and the Promise, and all the Principles laid down by the Founder, and the Special Training for the Guide side had been safeguarded in the new Constitition. After about eight months Guides came in very happily on the 15th August_ Independence Day again and all has been well ever since. Where there was doubt and apprehension, there exists now great understanding and harmony, and warm friendship between the leaders who had to face this fomidable decision. Came the day when Mrs. Lakshmi Mazumdar, the Chief Commissioner of the Guides was elected the National Commissioner of the Bharat Scouts and Guides. The Scouts were as delighted as the Guides, for she had proved herself an able and devoted leader, worthy of this high office.No one is more convinced of the wisdom of the Merger than our Chief Guide Lady B.P., on her subsequent visits to India, and the Bharat Scouts and Guides. And they are also second to none in their duty and service to their beloved Country, and the reverence to God.
Queenie Captain streered the Movement ably through the turbulent period of Indian History and through the transitional period of our Movement, with vision and undaunted courage. She has faced many difficulties, and has seen many changes, but her efforts have always been towards consolidating the Movement in
India, the foundation of which has been firmly laid. Mrs. Captain’s outstanding service to the Movement is a land mark in the history of Guiding in India. Internationally loved and respected this able administrator received the highest awards viz., Silver Fish and Silver Elephant, in recognition of her yeomon service to the country. After completing her task successfully, she passed on the reins of steward to her successors, and retired from active Guiding in 1957.
Dr. R.K. Bhan was a Professor of Economics in the Government College of Kashmir and later joined the Government of India, in the Economic Advisers Section in the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Later his services were transferred to the Ministry of Education as Deputy Educational Adviser. After retirement from the service of Government of India, Dr. Bhan held high positions in several educational institutions. At present he is Principal of a Government College under the Delhi Administration.]
The Scout Movement in India has played a decisive role in the field of youth welfare for the last sixty years under the leadership of many of our educationists, thinkers and public men. But understandably, as in the other fields, so in respect of the Scout Movement, suspicions, doubts and differences crept in ever since 1918. Consequently, the movement was divided into two major groups. Most of the leaders of both the sides were men of idealism, and had joined the movement for the welfare of young boys. Hence whatever might have been their differences, they knew, in their heart of hearts, that it was not good for the boys, for whom they were committed to work, to be brought up in an atmosphere of groupism and that the country needed the forces of cohesion and integrity to develop members of the younger generation into patriotic and right thinking young men and women.
Dr. Tarachand, in his home town of Allahabad, was caught in the stream of giving a new and meaningful stance to the
Scout Movement, which was then led by stalwarts like Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, Pandit Hridaynath Kunzru, Shri Ram Bajpai and others. He served as one of the Commissioners of the Hindustan Scout Association and was closely associated with the organisation.
After independence, at the invitation of the Education Minister, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, he left the Allahabad University and joined the Education Ministry as Educational Adviser and Secretary to the Ministry of Education.
About this time, in 1946, at the express desire of Lord Mountbatten, the Chief Scout of the Boy Scouts of India, and Pandit Hridaynath Kunzru of the Hindustan Scout Association, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Minister of Education decided to take the initiative to help the two Scout Organisations to sink their differences and to form a unified National Movement. The seed that was sown by Lord Mountbatten in 1946 germinated in 1948. Under the instructions of the Ministry of Education, and with the consent of the two Scout Organisations and the All India Girl Guide Association a Merger Committee was appointed. Dr. Tarachand, in his ex-officio position as Secretary of the Ministry, was appointed Secretary of this Merger Committee.
Although in his earlier days he was associated with the Hindustan Scout Association, in his capacity as Secretary of the Merger Committee, he kept himself strictly aloof from partisan politics and refrained from taking sides with either of the parties.
Office Bearers of Interim Council of Bharat Scouts and Guides with Dr. Tarachand, Education Secretary - 1950
DR. TARA CHAND
On the contrary, he worked assiduously to help the members of the Merger Committee to arrive at satisfactory solutions of their differences. Thus the silent contribution of Dr. Tarachand to bring about the merger, so smoothly so honourably for all the parties concerned, will remain a landmark in the history of the Scout Movement. The emergence of a unified national movement of Indian Scouting and Guiding, and the present position of the Bharat Scouts and Guides as the only officially recognised representatives of the movement was thus a major achievement of this highly cultured and wiseman of learning.
Dr. Tarachand is a distinguished scholar, a renowned teacher and a proficient administrator. He was born at Sialkot (West Pakistan) on 17 June, 1888, and came of a distinguished Kayasth (Mathur) family of Delhi He received his early education in Punjab and Delhi, and took his M.A. degree in History with a first class, first a rare distinction in those days from the Allahabad University in the year 1913. He obtained his D. Phil, from the Oxford University in the year 1922. He served as Professor and Principal of the K.P. U. College, Allahabad, from 1913 to 1945. In the year 1945 he was appointed Professor of History and Politics at the Allahabad University and was elected Vice Chancellor of the Allahabad University in 1947.
On 1st March, 1948 he was appointed Educational Advisor to the Government of India and Secretary, Ministry of Education. He held this post till December, 1951 when he was appointed Ambassador of India in Iran. With his back ground knowledge of Perisan and Islamic culture and astute wisdom he brought India and Iran much closer to each other. He held his position as Ambassador of India in Iran till the end of 1956.
On his return to India he was nominated a member of the Rajya Sabha (the Upper House of the Indian Parliament) in 1958 which he served for six years. Besides, he was entrusted with a number of major assignments of great national importance, the most notable among them being the Chairmanship of a team of eminent Historians entrusted with the writing of the ‘History of the Freedom Movement in India”.
Even as a student, Dr. Tarachand took a keen interest in the freedom struggle of the country and was an active freedom fighter. The two most eminent Indians who influenced Dr. Tarachand’s thought and attitudes were the late Dr. Tej Bahadur Sapru, a distinguished scholar and statesman, and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru,
the former Prime Minister of India. By talent and temperament, he was meant for a literary career. He adopted education, research and scholarship as his profession.
Dr. Tarachand is author of many books, to name only a few are, (i) Influence of Islam on India (ii) A short history of the Indian people(iii) The problems of Hindustan, (iv) Muslim philosophical thought in the History of Indian philosophy, Edited by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, (v) State and Society during the Moghul period, (vi) Histoiy of Freedom Movement (Vol.I and Vol.II).
He is a linguist and versatile scholar of Sanskrit, Persian, French and German. He is one of the very few scholars who can speak with authority on Muslim Policy and Culture and edited (a) Sirr-eAkbar, Dara Shukoh’s Persian translation of 50 Upanishad as, (b) Dara Shukoh’s other works in Persian, (c) The Persian translation of the Sanskrit drama “Prabodhachandroday’ 1 by Krisna Misra and the Persian translation of the Tenth Chapter of the Bhagwat Puran.
Indian Scouting is proud to have a man of such wide intellectual and cultural background as one of its leaders. His learning, his scholastic contributions and his attitude of mind represent the essence of Scouting which aims at building up amity and understanding among the people of the world.
[Mrs. Iris Ferris started her career as an educationist in a school in Calcutta. From her childhood she was interested in the Guide movement and served the Bengal Branch of the All India Girl Guide Association. When she migrated to England with her family Dame Leslie enlisted her services for the Secretariat of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. She is still serving the Bureau as its General Secretary. Her unassuming and candid approach and behaviour has won her many friends among the members of the movement all over the world.]
Born at the turn of the century in London, of Irish parentage, daughter of a Colonel, grand daughter of a Field Marshal, Sir Evelyn Wood, V.C., who was a close friend and brother officer of the late Lord Baden Powell, Dame Leslie served with great distinction in the Auxilary Territorial Service during the War, rising from the rank of private to be its very human and much loved Director (a rank equivalent to that of Major General) in command of over 200,000 women of numerous nationalities stationed in many parts of the world. She helped France and the U.S.A. to organise their women’s Armies and, in recognition of her services, the United Kingdom, France and the U.S.A. each conferred honours on her. She was made a Dame of the British Empire, a Chevalier de la Legion d’ Honneur and an officer of the Legion of Merit.
On her retirement from the Army in 1946, she took to farming in Devon with her husband and found time to write a book: “As Thoughts Survive” -an enthralling account of her career in the A.T.S. for which the initial letters of the title stand.
The Queen Mother, then reigning Queen of England and Commander-in-Chief of the A.T.S. wrote in a letter included in this book.:
“
She lays down a task which she has discharged with an untiring efficiency and no thought for herself.
“ The late Princess Royal, Controller Commandant of the A.T.S. and a close friend of Dame Leslie’s in the Preface says:
“Dame Leslie as Director, gives to all an example of solid courage and human leadership........... The work she did will be remembered for many years by all those men and women who served with her and her influence will be apparent for many years to come.”
How prophetic were these words which were echoed years later at the time of her retirement on 31 December 1964 after over 13 years as Director of the World Bureau of the WAGGGS by the then Chairman of the World Committee, Mrs. Lykiardopoulo, who said of her:
“
In the last 13 years, Dame Leslie rendered to Guiding services which were quite innumerable and were not only of the highest quality but some were of an impossible nature. Totally bereft of any instinct of self preservation, she had given freely of her services everywhere.”
Never having been a Guide herself until she came to the Movement in 1951 as Director of the World Bureau, Dame Leslie nevertheless brought to her work a natural identification of ideals and a very high conception of the part Guiding could play in a fast moving and complex world because of its spiritual values and its embracing membership which is without distinction of nationality, creed, race or colour. She was always keenly alive to the conflicting trends and influences of modem life, the problems and responsibilities of young people and the importance of constantly reviewing the work of the World Association in the light of contemporary needs, not only of the world as a whole, but of each country, as a separate entity and yet an integral part of it.
During her time as Director of the World Bureau, the Movement almost doubled in strength from a World Association membership of 30 countries numbering 2 ¾ million individuals to one of 67 countries numbering well over 5 million. At the same time, the Thinking Day Fund, used for the work of promotion and expansion multiplied eightfold in the years between 1951 and 1964.
DAME LESLIE WHATELEY D.B.E.As Director, Dame Leslie spent almost half of every year visiting Member and potential Member Countries all over the globe, helping them to overcome difficulties, to develop and strengthen their National Organisations and to bring to the smaller and remoter countries specially, real sense of belonging to a world wide organisation in which each has its own important part to play.
Many of her travels took her to Asia and to India which had a very special place in her heart because of its links with her childhood when her grandfather and parents spent many years there. Since that time her imagination had been filled with a longing to see this great and beautiful country for herself and to know its people at first hand. She was a sincere admirer of its great men, its poets, its philosophers and in sympathy with its people, their sufferings and their triumphs.
Her first visit materialised in 1952, about a year after the merger of the Indian Boy Scouts Association and the Hindustan Scout Association (functioning since November, 1950 as the Bharat Scouts and Guides) with the All India Girl Guides Association.
She was invited by Smt. Lakshmi Mazumdar to go there for an on the spot study of how it was working under the new structure of the Bharat Scouts and Guides. It was at this time that she met Pandit Hridayanath Kunzru, both National and International Commissioner of this Joint Organisation, an acquaintance which soon ripened into a deep understanding between the two which has continued to this day, based on mutual respect and admiration.
Dame Leslie’s presence in India for about two months, during which she visited Delhi, Taradevi, Simla, Jaipur, Allahabad, Lucknow, Patna, Calcutta, Madras, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Bombay, Gwalior, Agra, performed a variety of functions and met a complete cross section of the people both within and outside the Movement, was immensely helpful. The Bharat Scouts and Guides owe her a sincere debt of gratitude for all she did to enable them to make a success of the new venture, to strengthen the position of the Guide Section and to establish it in the eyes of the “world”.
This Commemoration Volume for presentation to Pandit Kunzru on his Eightieth Birthday would not be complete without mention of this and how these two great people of foresight, sincerity, faith and intelligence and with the right human approach, together with other pioneers like Smt. Lakshmi Mazumdar, gave very real encouragement and support to the leadership within the Organisation at a time when these were most needed.
If I may add a personal note, I was at the time of Dame Leslie’s visit, serving as Commissioner for Training, Bengal, having started my Guide life in Calcutta as a Blue-Bird in those long ago and far off days when this branch of Guiding was first initiated. She made a tremendous impact on me then which has grown over all the years of happy and close contact I have had the good fortune to have with her since then, both by working for her at the World Bureau from October, 1953 until her retirement in December, 1964 and as her friend.
Dame Leslie has, since October, 1965, been working “part time” as the Administrator of the Voluntary Services of St. Mary’s Hospital at Rochampton, close to her home in London. This however, is a misnomer, because as far as I know she is really working seven days a week at any time for whatever cause a call is made on her.
Dame Leslie has throughout her life met the highest and the humblest in many lands-Royalty, Presidents, Prime Ministers, high ranking Government Officials, people of all walks of life and levels of Guiding. She is the recipient of numerous national awards, and is the friend and confidante of many. What are the special qualities which make her universally loved and a leader in the finest sense of the word? Her love of basic belief in and respect for people which brings out the best in them; her happy gift of making others feel at ease; her generosity and ability to share with others the big and the little things, the sad and the amusing; her rare sense of humour most to the fore when situations are most difficult; her sincere humility; her wisdom tempered with humanity; her faith in the basic goodness of things; her depth of understanding and ability always to see the other person’s point of view; her high sense of dedication to the service of others; her undauntable spirit which has always risen above the physical end with which she has faced the many personal problems which have been the pattern of her life ever since her girlhood, but which she has never allowed to obtrude. Her one weakness, as I have known it, is her inability to say “No” when a call for help is made.
The World Chief Guide, Olave Lady Baden Powell, addressing the Eighteenth World Conference in Denmark in 1963, said of her.
“She was a great woman before we were fortunate enough to get her as Director. She is a very great person, a very great thinker, a very great worker and a very great friend-and when I say great, I mean it in the highest sense and we in our Guide world today, revere her, admire her and love her.:
LESLIE WHATELEY D.B.E.On this very auspicious occasion of Pandit Kunzru’s Eightieth Birthday, the Bharat Scouts and Guides will, I know, recall with pride their happy association with Dame Leslie and the part she has played with Pandit Kunzru towards the realisation of a dream.
One of the meeting halls at the National Headquarters New Delhi is remembered after Dame Leslie Madam by naming the hall as Dame Leslie Whatleley Hall.
TRUE
Iris Ferris Ferris Library
Library
Iris Ferris the author of this article served as General Secretary of WAGGGS. She had made a remarkable contribution to the Bharat Scouts and Guides. To show our gratitude the library in Guide wing Queenie Park is named as Ferris Library.
[ The Rt. Rev. R. W. Bryan, Bishop of Barrackpore (West Bengal) was closely connected with the Scout Movement in India and helped Col. Wilson and other pioneer leaders in introducing Scouting in the country. He has contributed a great deal in the training of leaders in Bengal. Although he relinquished his warrant as Headquarters Commissioner for training in West Bengal Bharat Scouts and Guides, he is loved and respected by the scouts and their leaders who happened to come in contact with him. His knowledge and understanding in cubbing is acknowledged all over the Scout world.]
“We did not always see eye to eye, but that did not prevent us from walking hand in hand”.
This memorable saying was used by Colonel J.S. Wilson (“Beige” to his closer friends) in a speech he made about Lord Rowallan at a function when he was handing over as Chief Scout of the Commonwealth. I quote it here, though it has no direct reference to Colonel Wilson’s services to Scouting in India, because it illustrates well his large-heartedness and his readiness to co-operate with anyone working for the same ends even though there may be points on which they did not agree.
It is not easy for me to write briefly and dispassionately about Beige, because since I took my Wood Badge training under him at Tollygunge in January, 1923.1 have always looked up to him with
COLONEL J.S. WILSON
great respect and affection, both as my guru in scouting and as one whose uprightness and self dedication I would fain emulate.
I met him first in mid-1922 at the headquarters of the First Calcutta Association on Indian Mirror Street, and at that time at least stood in awe of him as District Commissioner, as a senior police official, as a first rate athlete, as a Scout of the highest technical efficiency and as one who had already made his mark in the larger world of Scouting.
Up to that time Beige had played lieutenant to Sir Alfred Pickford (“Pickie”) in the development of Scouting in India. ‘The two of them together took the lead from the side of the B.P. movement in throwing it open to Indian boys. As Smt. Lakshmi Mazumdar has written in her recent monograph on the History of Indian Scouting.
“In India, Scouting first came in for the benefit of British and Anglo Indian boys, as a measure to bring home to them the traditional values of British society........ Understandably, the authorities of the newly formed movement did not envisage that the programme and ideals would be suitable for Indian boys”.
But it is not surprising that the more enlightened and forward looking Indians desired that the benefits of Scout training and ideals should be available for their sons (and daughters) also. So, as Smt. Mazumdar writes, “Indian Scouting made its debut in different parts of the country- in the towns and in the cities-wherever enthusiastic and competent leadership was available. It is worth noting that in this effort both Indians and non- Indians took an effective lead”.
The local authorities, however, on the whole, would have none of it and Scout Headquarters in London took the same view. Colonel Wilson, who had joined the movement as an Assistant Scout master in Calcutta in 1917, nine years after coming out to this land, has written of the efforts which he and Pickie were making; “Together we had been struggling for the admission of Indian boys into the Boy Scouts Association, there was a Government of India Order against it, in which it was bluntly stated ‘Scouting might teach them to become revolutionaries’.
In this matter, as in many others, Bengal was one of the pioneering provinces. A group of leading citizens set up the Bengalee Boy Scouts League in 1914, which later changed its name to the Bengalee Boy Scouts Association. Though Imperial Headquarters in London refused to grant them affiliation, they had the backing and sympathy of some prominent British officials, and others, among whom (I remember) were not only Pickie and Beige but also Sir
Lancelot Sanderson, Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, whose private Secretary Mr. J.A. Kirkahm was for many years the D.C. of the Second Calcutta Association, composed entirely of Indian boys.
In August 1920, Sir Alfred Pickford, as Chief Commissioner for India, called a conference in Calcutta of representatives of all the main Scout Associations, i.e., including those not recognised by the Headquarters in London. Colonel Wilson was there too. So was Pandit H.N. Kunzru, as Chief Commissioner of the Seva Samiti Scout Association, which had its origin and main strength in the U.P. Dr. Annie Besant, another revered name in the history of Indian Scouting and architect of the Indian Scout Association of Madras, was perhaps the most forceful exponent of the views of Indian Scouting. At the request of the Conference the then Viceroy, Lord Chelmsford, a sincere well wisher of Scouting, invited Lord and Lady Baden-Powell to visit India on a goodwill mission.
Already the men in authority in Scouting in England had begun to change their views regarding the recognition of Indian Scouting. This was due, it may be inferred, partly to the spread of more liberal ideas and partly to the pressure that was being put upon Imperial Headquarters by people of influence and authority. The visit of the founder to India in 1921 settled the issue.
When Lord and Lady Baden-Powell arrived in Calcutta they were received by Colonel Wilson who had succeeded as D.C. He put on for their benefit the biggest rally ever held up to that time in India. The Chief undertook an extensive tour of the country, covering all the chief centres. Though the Seva Samiti Scout Association continued to stand out, the Indian Scout Association headed by Dr. Besant agreed to merge with the Boy Scouts Association. At the same time steps were taken to build up a national organisation which should bring together all the pioneer groups started by enthusiasts in different parts of the country. Thus began a new chapter in the history of the movement in India. Typical of the new spirit was the publication in 1923 of a new edition of the Handbook entitled Scouting for Boys in India, specially prepared by the founder to be more suitable for the boys of this land.
In 1922 Sir Alfred Pickford and Colonel Wilson took the Wood Badge training at Gilwell Park, and came back as Deputy Camp Chiefs. When Beige ran our Wood Badge course at Tollygunge in 1923 we already knew that he was to succeed Colonel Gidney as Camp Chief. This happened later in the year, when he retired from the police service in India.
But though he had left this country he continued to keep in close touch with the Movement here and with its leaders, over and above what was expected of him as Camp Chief. His influence here was shown by the invitation to visit India again in 1933. He came in November of that year and stayed on till March, 1934 During that time he toured extensively, ran training courses,, and did his best (though unsuccessfully) to bring the B.P. Association and the Seva Samiti Association together. In February, 1934 he submitted to the Second All India Scouters‘ Conference at Delhi, a long and detailed report containing his recommendations for the general improvement of the work and organisation of Scouting and for the training of its leaders. Under his chairmanship the constitution of the Boy Scouts Association of India was drawn up.
Colonel Wilson continued as Camp Chief for nearly 20 years, until June, 1943. All through that period he exercised a great influence on Indian Scouting through its leaders. Not only did most of them come to the Gilwell to be trained by him; he also kept up a wide personal correspondence. India always had a leading place in his interest and his affections. I myself attended three courses at Gilwell in the summer of 1928 and Beige at some of the World Jamborees, and can testify what a close and lively interest he took in Indian Scouting and how well informed he kept himself about us.
After leaving Gilwell he became Director of the International Bureau for eight years and then in 1953, Honorary President of the International Committee. Again it was part of his office to keep in touch with Scouting in India, and again his interest in us transcended his official duties and obligations.
When after Independence, the merger of the Boy Scouts Association and the Hindustan Scout Association was proposed. Beige threw his whole weight in favour of the proposal. He was consulted in his official capacity, but apart from this he was consulted personally by many leaders, and not only on the B.P. Association side, but by number of others in less exalted position who also sought his advice. While he was not blind to the problems and difficulties involved, he constantly counselled charity, forbearance and patience. He saw that in the new political and constitutional situation there could be no adequate reason for the two Associations continuing their separate existence. Inherited prejudices and suspicions had to be abandoned for the good of the movement. The good of the youth, of India must be the paramount consideration.
On page 60 of her History of Indian Scouting Smt. Mazumdar gives an instance of how Colonel Wilson, dealt with the questions
DREAm CAmE TRUEthat were put to him and of the sanity and wisdom and in this instance at least of the prophetic insight of his advice. As is well known, one of the major difficulties in negotiating the merger was to get agreement on the system of training of Scouters. The spokesmen of the Hindustan Scout Association were not at that time prepared to accept the whole Wood Badge scheme of training as it stood. Colonel Wilson, while regretting certain things advised that certain others should be allowed to pass as not being essential. He ended his letter,” I have a feeling that in the course of time, the movement in India will itself wish to do away with the difference now suggested.” That was in 1948. He was proved right, for eleven years later the Gilwell scheme of training was accepted.
The merger between the two Associations took place in 1950, but there were still some mutual suspicions and prejudices, and at first things did not work smoothly. These difficulties, were gradually overcome by the wisdom and patience of the top leaders, notably Pandit Kunzru and Vivian Bose. Another great help was the visit in the autumn of 1952 of the two World Directors, Colonel Wilson and Dame Leslie Whateley. Colonel Wilson in particular already had the trust and respect of the leaders and Scouters of all parties. His unrivalled experience and his great influence, as undoubtedly the best known Scout in the world since the Founder’s death were used entirely in the interest of mutual trust and co-operation.
First Wood Badge Course held in Calcutta in 1922 - conducted by Sir Alfred Pickford as Scout Master and Col. J.S. Wilson as Assistant Scout Master
Apart from the influence of the greatest of Indian leaders, the fact that the merger has worked and his working so well is due more to Colonel Wilson than to anyone person outside India.
J.S. WILSON[Shri R.K. Kapur, a keen student of English literature was on the staff of the Punjab University in preparation days. After the partition of the country when he migrated to Delhi, he joined the Ministry of Education in the Government of India and rose to be a Joint Educational Adviser in that Ministry. He retired from service in 1963 when he was appointed Joint Director of the Regional Institute of the UNESCO in New Delhi for Educational Planning in the South and SouthEast Asia. He is now Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sambalpur in the State of Orissa.]
No one can deny that youth in this country, and, indeed, in the whole world is in a state of great turmoil today. It is not prepared to tolerate any longer the inanity of life in affluent societies and the injustice and the exploitation which exist in such large measure in the poorer parts of the world. It refuses to be imposed upon by an order generation in whose empty promises it has lost all faith. It has seen to much selfishness masquerading as patriotism, too much personal advertisement passing as social service, too, much violence covered up in ostensible pursuits of peace to have any regard left for those who have the reins of power in their hands. There are many other causes which go to shape this complex phenomenon, but this obviously is not the place to analyse them. Suffice it to say, that in Asia.
Europe and America the younger generation seems to have reached a point when they think they must acquire power to fashion the world in a much more just, equitable and meaningful manner than their elders have been able to do in the past. The mighty eruption which took place at the Sorbonne in Paris some time ago, and which found responsive echoes in many parts of Europe and elsewhere has been the most dramatic exhibition of the malaise which is now found in most Universities of the World. Compared to the explosions which are now taking place in established seats of learning, what we
had in our schools and colleges in the last few months appears to be a Guy Fawkes Night of negligible fireworks.
In the human body, as in the social organism, symptoms of disease usually begin to manifest themselves long before the malady assumes a dangerous form, and it is the business of those who wish to maintain personal or social health to take remedial measure in appropriate time. It will not be unfair to say that in our anxiety to expand education during the last seventeen years, expansion for which, let us concede, there were strong, social, political and economic compulsions we concentrated heavily on the quantitative aspects of the problem, and neglected other important elements in this complex process, without which it could not have yielded socially satisfying returns. What was vital and ignored has given rise to tensions which threaten to cancel the advantages which education sought to achieve.
It will be readily conceded that good education is not merely academic instruction; it involves the harmonious development of physique, a balanced development of emotions, a fair degree of socialization and the acquisition of a set of moral values which can help one throughout life. All this apparatus is not acquired in the class room alone; the co-curricular activities, games and sports, contacts between teachers and students, the atmosphere in the home the prevailing climate in society in fact, the social ethos as a whole, all these contribute their share in moulding a properly educated man.
Let us briefly examine how our educational system has, fared on some of the major counts which have been indicated above.
It is well known that after the second World War, there has been all over the world, but more especially in developing countries like India, an explosion of expectations; the common man is not prepared to regard his poverty as a divine and unalterable dictum, and he looks upon education as the major instrument for transforming his lot. There has, therefore, been during the last seventeen years in our country an expansion of education, the like of which has never been witnessed in the world before. Schools, Colleges and Universities have gone on proliferating, sometimes in answer to the existing needs, sometimes for political and prestigious considerations. The country has just not been able to afford suitably qualified and trained teachers for those institutions, nor has it attracted to the profession, through appropriate emoluments and other benefits, men and women who are best tilled fitted to devote their lives to
YOUTH TRAINING AND WELFARE 137this nation-building activity. Poor and dissatisfied teachers lead to poor text books and poorly unrelated to the real problems of life, ends with an examination which is mechanical, unimaginative and bug-bearish in its psychological effects. The educational system, therefore, becomes a soulless machine, and our schools and colleges, largely agencies of mass production, and not instructions where the human personality, each of which is essentially unique, is helped to unfold itself according to its hidden potentiality.
The poverty of the academic provision is matched by the inadequate attention given to the development of the physique. Thousands of schools and colleges have no playgrounds, and even those that have them use them indifferently for games and sports. The full impact of these activities is unfortunately not yet understood in our system. They are regarded as the preserves of the scholastically backward students or of those who wish to take them up as a profession. The character building quality of sports and the social and moral values which they call into play, quite apart from providing a wholly healthy outlet for physical energy, are not yet considered as an integral part of education. The spirit of adventure for which there is a deep urge in the young is seldom called into play. There is little provision for a medical check-up at entrance, a medical follow-up where necessary and emergency care of those who require it. Such surveys as have been conducted in schools and colleges have revealed an alarming incidence of disease and malnutrition in our boys and girls.
The emotional and psychological problems of our students also tend to be neglected, partly because of limited resources and partly because we lack trained man-power to develop appropriate welfare services. First generation learners who come from illiterate families and enter college for the first time, feel bewildered in their new surroundings and need sympathetic attention. Guidance is also needed in the choice of subjects, in moments of emotional tension (which are bound to occur during adolesence), during financial crises (by no means in-frequent in the life of an average Indian student), and in the long and hard quest for a job. Confidence in the young to face the world develops with emotional maturity, which is brought about through cultural activities, debates and discussions, social meets, camps and hikes and other forms of organized group activity. Only the best schools and colleges in the country promote these activities in any appreciable manner.
In this face of this large catalogue of weaknesses and deficiencies, one might well ask what role the Bharat Scouts and Guides can play to promote youth training and welfare. Let us be candid and say at once that scouting is not a panacea for all evils, and any tall and untenable claims made on its behalf can only harm the cause. It is quite obvious that scouting cannot reduce over-crowding in schools and colleges: it cannot improve teacher salaries or even induce able men to join the profession. It also cannot, perhaps, improve curricula, or reform the examination system. However, in the total process of education, it can make a highly beneficial contribution, and its methods and content can help to bring about well-developed and harmoniously rounded personalities which can stand up squarely to the pressures of modem life.
To begin with, scouting catches one young, when habits can be easily formed, and through games and pleasurable activity promotes socialization, and a keen sense of responsibility. The Scout Law and the Scout Promise are simple, straightforward statements which become part of one’s mental make-up through constant repetition. And during the Camps, which are prominent features of the movement, scouts and guides are brought under a number of influences which promote emotional maturity, the spirit of adventure is implicit in nearly all the scout activities; that is why it is so deeply satisfying to those who join it.
At several places in the country today, students have been invited to take pledges to safeguard democracy and secularism, to obey the rule of law and to settle differences, no matter of what kind and intensity, through an amicable exchange of views. This is supposed to be an antidote to lawlessness and indiscipline. A question has been asked that even if the students take the oath, what surety is there that they would continue to honour it? One makes promises and oaths and one frequently breaks them, according to one’s convenience. Since there is no moral sanction behind the oath, there may be no moral compunction in repudiating it. It is quite obvious that if these oaths are taken by those who have been guides and scouts at some point of their educational careers, they would never want to break them; they would honour and of decent behaviour is at the very root of democracy, and a scout is a seasoned democrat, even when he willingly obeys duly constituted authority.
The indiscipline among the Indian Youth today is a result of accumulated frustrations; a cheerful, active and outward looking
scout is free from frustrations not because life is kinder to him than to others, but because he has an outlook in which both sorrow and joy, failure and achievement have their appropriate place and get synthesized in a deeper understanding of human existence. Life in the Camps by which the movement sets so much store as a whole school of education in itself. It teaches emotional integration and the solidarity of India (and in International jamborees, the unity of the world) as nothing else can. It satisfies a large number of youthful impulses and desire, and as an open-air, outdoor activity promotes clean habits and a healthy outlook among the participants. And the beauty of it all is that the scout teachings are not imparted through a para-military organisation or through an iron- regiment but through activities in which pleasure and instruction are inextricably blended. It is tempting thought as to how different the moral climate in our educational institutions would have been today, if, instead of dissipating our energy in a number of comparative activities in the field of Youth Welfare, we had, during the last two decades, concentrated on promoting scouting and guiding alone. This is a challenge which the workers in the dream of the great man whom we are honouring today through the publication of this volume.
