Great History of Girl Guides and Boys Scouts that authorities want to demolish

Lahore, 4th December: An interesting story of the journey of Girl Guides and Boys Scouts, which the rulers are trying to destroy in time.

This institution, which was founded by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, is now going through a very difficult period to fight for survival.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has bound the government and political figures to stop conspiracies against this institution, but these rulers are adamant to blow up the orders of the Supreme Court.

The history of this important institution is as follow:

The movement began in the early 20th century, first forming three groups of boys according to age, Cube Scout, Boy Scout, Rover Scout, and then in 1910 a girls’ scouting organization was formed, which included various groups such as Brownie Guide, Girl Guide and Girl Scout, Ranger Guide.

Lieutenant General Robert Baden-Powell, who enlisted in the British Army in 1906 and 1907, wrote a book on espionage and scouting and he organized a camp. 

Later, the American model book Boy Scout Handbook was founded. After the publication of this book, the Boy Scouts movement organized itself rapidly throughout the British Empire.

By 1908, Boy Scouts was established in Gibraltar, Malta, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, but in 1909 Chile was the only country outside the British Empire to have the first Scouts institute named Baden Powell.

The first Scout Rally held at Crystal Palace in London attracted about 10,000 boys and girls. In 1910, Scouts were established at Argentina, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States.

By the end of 1910, Cube Scout and Rover Scout programs had begun, and they worked independently in their home country until they were recognized by an official Scouts organization.

Cube Scouts Programs in the United States began in 1911 but gained official recognition in 1930. At that time, girls also wanted to be part of the movement, so Baden Powell and his sister Agnes Baden Powell introduced the Girl Guide in the early 1910s.

Scouting is internationally known by two symbols: the trefoil symbol used by members of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scout WAGGGS.

Boy Scouts in the United States allowed girls to become Scouting members. There were about 32 million registered Scouts and about 10 million registered guides in 216 countries. In 2008, there were about 539 independent Scouts organizations worldwide that were members of WAGGGS or WOSM. 90 national organizations formed their own international organizations.

Scouting in Pakistan started as a branch of the British Indian Scouting Association by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The Pakistan Boy Scout Association was established in 1947.

After independence from Britain, it joined the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) in 1948. The Pakistan Boy Scout Association is a national scout organization of Pakistan with about 556,000 members.

Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, had said that scouting can play an important role in shaping the character of our youth. It can be useful in promoting their mental, physical and spiritual development, discipline and becoming good citizens.

Scouting continued to operate in East and West Pakistan as part of the Boy Scout Association of Pakistan until it was divided into two parts in 1971. 

Scouting has been made compulsory in schools since September 2007. The aim was to train one million young volunteers to help others in emergencies.

In Pakistan, scouting is practically organized at the provincial level. The purpose of organizing it on a small scale is to enforce the laws well. The Girl Guides and the Pakistan Boys Scout Association have been divided into 10 provincial organizations.

The most important thing in traditional scouting was Baden Powell’s experience in military training and education. Emphasis on non-formal education programs and practical activities in scouting methods includes camping, hiking, bag packing and sports.