About Us
Welcome to Maharashtra State Bharat Scout and Guides
The Maharashtra State Bharat Scouts & Guides
History of the Maharashtra State Scouts and Guides Association
The Scout movement in Maharashtra began at Khadki, Pune in 1908. The following year, in 1909, English medium schools in Mumbai began establishing their own Scout Guide Units. As the movement grew, community-specific and regional organizations began to form:
August 9, 1914: The Parsi Scout Society was established in Mumbai.
May 1919: The Indian Boy Scout Association was founded in Mumbai, marking a period of rapid expansion for the Scout movement across the entire state of Maharashtra.
Unification and Institutional Framework (1950–1960)
Following Indian independence, major scouting bodies unified to create a cohesive national identity. On November 7, 1950, the Hindustan Scout Association and the Boy Scout Association merged to form the Bharat Scouts and Guides.Locally, the Maharashtra State Scouts and Guides Association was established in 1950 and officially registered with the Charity Commissioner in 1953. When the official State of Maharashtra was formally carved out in 1960, this association became its primary scouting body.
Headquarter Transitions and Modern Growth
The state headquarters underwent a few location changes as the organization grew:
Until 1965: The office address of the State Association was located at Hammed Street, Mumbai.
Post-1965: The Maharashtra State Government give the State Association an office at 79, F Road, Marine Lines, Mumbai.
Present Day: The State Office remains at 79, F Road, Marine Lines, Mumbai, managing a vast network of 42 district offices and 6 State training centers.
Academic Integration: Recognizing its immense value in youth development, the Maharashtra State Government officially integrated Scouting and Guiding into the school academic curriculum in 1972.
The Scout and Guide Movement
Scouting and Guiding is a Non-Religious, Non-Political, Non-Sectarian, secular and uniformed youth movement.
Birth of the Movement
The Founder of our Movement, Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden Powell, was born in London, England on 22nd February, 1857. As a Captain of the Royal British Army, he was assigned the task of fighting the tribals in the jungles of South Africa in 1887.
To assess the movements of the opponents in the jungles, he had recruited local boys in the age groups of 14-25 to scout around and gather information about enemy movements as well as pass on messages to his own groups of soldiers.
After Baden Powell returned to England from this’ African assignment, his experience conceptualized into the “Boy Scout” movement in the year 1907. He thought if illiterate boys could work and move fast in gathering information and delivering messages during war times, why not train them to be better citizens and useful human beings of society in peacetimes.
He based his ideas upon the four pillers of Scouting / Guiding namely:
1. Character & intelligence
2. Handicraft & Skill
3. Health & Hygiene
4. Service
Purpose of the Movement:
The purpose of the Movement is to contribute. to, the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual potentials as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of the local, national and international communities.