About
The Bharat Scouts & Guides is a voluntary, non-political, educational movement for young people, open to all without distinction of origin, race, or creed, in accordance with the purpose, principles, and methods conceived by the founder, Lord Baden-Powell, in 1907. The purpose of the movement is to contribute to the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, social, and spiritual potential as individuals, as responsible citizens, and as members of local, national, and international communities.
The movement is based on three main Principles:
The Scout/Guide Method emphasizes progressive self-education through a promise and law, learning by doing, and membership in small groups under adult leadership, fostering character development, self-reliance, and cooperation. The Scout Law teaches that a Scout is trustworthy, loyal, friendly, courteous, a lover of animals and nature, disciplined, courageous, thrifty, and pure in thought, word, and deed. Scouting in India began in 1908 with a troop of Anglo-Indian boys formed by a Scottish missionary in the then Central Province, though it was disbanded in 1910. By early 1911, nine different scout troops comprising British and Anglo-Indian boys emerged in cities like Shimla, Calcutta, Jabalpur, Allahabad, Bangalore, Poona, Kirkee, Saidpur, and Madras. Efforts to include Indian boys in the movement gained momentum when Montague and Chelmsford, the Secretary of State for India and the Viceroy of India respectively, intervened in 1917. After India gained independence, the Boy Scouts Association and the Hindustan Scout Association officially merged on 7th November 1950 to form “The Bharat Scouts and Guides,” marking a unified national movement dedicated to nurturing the spirit of service, leadership, and brotherhood among India’s youth.
