Dr. Tarachand R.K. Bhan 122

Scout 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.

BOmBAY:

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.