History of Bangladesh Scout

Scouting in modern Bangladesh started as part of the British Indian branch of The Scout Association. After the partition of India, the "East Pakistan Boy Scout Association" was formed as a regional association within the Pakistan Boy Scouts Association.

Scouting was officially founded in British India in 1909, first starting at the Bishop Cotton Boys' School in Bangalore. Scouting for native Indians was started by Justice Vivian Bose, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Pandit Hridayanath Kunzru, Girija Shankar Bajpai, Annie Besant and George Arundale, in 1913. Prior to this date, Scouting was open only for British and foreign Scouts. On 4 February 1914, Sir Robert Scallon, British Commander of the Concentration at Dhaka, visited St. Gregory's School in Dhaka – at that time purely European and Eurasian (Anglo) School. As the Boy Scouts were unknown in Dhaka—for that matter, only four Troops existed down in Calcutta. Sir Robert invited the boys to try and establish a troop.

Mr. Francis, Organiser of the Boy Scouts, came with Captain Pakenham Walsh and his lantern photos on the work of the Boy Scouts. That was on March 2, 1914, Mr. Francis, as Scoutmaster of the area, enrolled six of the school's boys who had passed the Tenderfoot Test. The final approval by the Bengal Provincial Commissioner was signed by Mr. H Beuran. It lists Serjt. R Narnett, Inspector of Police as pro-tem Scoutmaster, Brother Bertin, then the Headmaster of the School gave all encouragement, Bro. Vital was named as Assistant Scoutmaster on probation.

The Troop was officially named: The FIRST DHAKA, St. Gregory's Troop..NUMBER ONE. The date on the Approval was 7 May 1914. The Scoutmaster was Mr. Harnett. The total strength of the Troop was forty boys, as of 27 April 1914.

The Britist Official Approval, Dalil lists St. Gregory's as the First Troop in the Dhaka or East Bengal area. Later on, separate groups in Calcutta were entitled One to Four, and St. Gregory's became Fifth Troop of the Bengal Presidency. The first scouts were David Pogose, Peter Gomes, Alfred Ferguson, Harold Armstead, Cyril Lucas and Osmund D'Silva. The school had Five Patrols and Mr. Francis listed the total number of Scouts as 40,to be going on their first camp in January 1915.

In 1916, a Cub section was started, followed by the Rover section in 1918.

In 1916, Calcutta's Senior Deputy Commissioner of Police J. S. Wilson introduced Scouting for Boys as a textbook in the Calcutta Police Training School. Colonel Wilson volunteered his services to the District Scout Commissioner, Alfred Pickford, and in 1917 became Assistant Scoutmaster of the Old Mission Church Troop. Together the two struggled for the admission of Indian boys into The Scout Association, which had not been admitted due to a Government of India order against it because "Scouting might train them to become revolutionaries". Shortly Wilson was acting as Cubmaster and Scoutmaster, and succeeded Pickford as District Commissioner in May 1919 when Pickford was promoted to Chief Scout Commissioner for India.

As a way of getting around the Government Order, the Boy Scouts of Bengal was founded, with identical aims and methods. Many separate Scout organizations began to spring up, the Indian Boy Scouts Association, founded in 1916, based in Madras and headed by Annie Besant and George Arundale; Boy Scouts of Mysore; Boy Scouts of Baroda; Nizam's Scouts in Hyderabad; Seva Samiti Scout Association (Humanity Uplift Service Society), founded in 1917 by Madan Mohan Malaviya and Hridayanath Kunzru and based in Allahabad; the aforementioned Boy Scouts of Bengal and likely others. A conference was held in Calcutta in August 1920 in which Wilson staged a Scout Rally, and as a result the Viceroy of India sent an invitation to Lord Baden-Powell, by then Chief Scout of the World, to visit India. Lord and Lady Baden-Powell arrived in Bombay in late January 1921 for a short tour of the subcontinent before leaving Calcutta for Rangoon. Alfred Pickford accompanied them and became one of their closest friends.

The result of this visit was a union of all of the Scout organizations except the Seva Samiti Scout Association into The Boy Scouts Association in India. In 1922 Pickford returned to England and was appointed Overseas Commissioner of The Boy Scouts Association at their headquarters in London, but his dream of allowance of local boys into the program had been fulfilled.

In 1938, a number of members left the Boy Scouts Association in India after a wave of nationalism. They formed – together with the Seva Samiti Scout Association and the newly founded India National Scout Association – the Hindustan Scout Association, the first coeducational Scouting and Guiding organisation in India. In the same year, the Boy Scouts Association in India became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.

From left to right – Brother Peter C.S.C., Headmaster St. Gregory; Nicholas Rozario, Deputy Camp Chief (East Pakistan); J. S. Wilson, Director of International Bureau; Squadron Leader H.V. Bhatty, Scout Provincial Secretary and A.R. Sardar Hussain, Scout Camp Chief for Pakistan

J. S. Wilson, Director of the Boy Scouts International Bureau, visited Karachi in 1952 as guest of J.D. Shuja, the General Secretary of the Pakistan Boy Scouts Association.^[3] During his visit, he saw Bhit Island, off Karachi, a fishing community primarily of refugees, who had been adopted by a Karachi Scout group, the Rovers and older Scouts of which were staffing a school until a regular teacher could be appointed. In Bahawalpur, Wilson was welcomed by Brigadier M.A. Abbasi, Deputy Chief Scout Commissioner who had been at the 1951 World Jamboree in Austria and would later lead the Pakistani contingent at the 1957 Jubilee Jamboree. At Lahore, Wilson met the Scouts and Bluebirds (Brownies) of the Deaf and Dumb Institute, and visited A.R. Sardar Hussain, Scout Camp Chief for Pakistan, Squadron Leader H.V. Bhatty, Scout Provincial Secretary, Nicholas Rozario, Deputy Camp Chief (East Pakistan), and Mir M. Mohsin, Deputy Camp Chief (West Pakistan), who later succeeded Shuja as General Secretary.

In 1958, the second National Jamboree of the Pakistan Boy Scouts Association was held at Chittagong with 4,000 participants. The fifth National Jamboree of the Pakistan Boy Scouts Association in 1969 used the grounds of the new training center of the East Pakistan Boy Scouts Association at Mouchak.

Scouting continued in East and West Pakistan as part of the Pakistan Boy Scouts Association until the country was split in the 1970s.

During the Bangladesh Liberation War, in April 1971, members of the renamed "Bangladesh Boy Scout Association" volunteered to carry the mail from the Bangladesh Army field post offices to the nearest Post Office in India. In 1972, the First National Council of Scouting in Bangladesh was held in 8 and 9 April, and during the Council on 9 April 1972 the "Bangladesh Boy Scout Association" was officially formed as successor of the East Pakistan Boy Scout Association. Peare Ali Nazir was elected as first National commissioner. On 11 September 1972 The Government of The People's Republic of Bangladesh approved the Scout Association by the Ordinance No. 111/1972.

On 1 June 1974 "Bangladesh Boy Scout Association" became the 105th independent member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. Both predecessors, the British Indian branch of The Scout Association as well as the Pakistan Boy Scouts Association were also members of the World Organization of the Scout Movement during their activity in modern Bangladesh.

Later on 30 December 1978 the organization changed its name to "Bangladesh Scouts". Since 1994, girls are accepted as members.