President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurates seven-day national jamboree

Mysuru: Scouting and Guiding is a tool for enrichment of life skills through proper understanding and awareness of social and national needs, said President of India Pranab Mukherjee.

Speaking after inaugurating the 17th National Jamboree at Adakanahalli Industrial Area here on Thursday, he said, “Young Scouts and Guides are valuable members of our society and active citizens who are contributing to resolving the challenges our communities are facing today. The Scouts and Guide Movement is open to all regardless of race or creed and its purpose is to help young people develop physically, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Scouting is not a mere membership of an organisation but a commitment to uphold truthfulness and dignity in one’s own life at a very young and impressionable age. In fact, as a world youth movement in a globalised world, Scouting has a global responsibility to meet the challenges of development. It has shown the world how developing countries can benefit from a non-formal education system like Scouting. Karnataka is one of the most active and leading states in the field of Scouting and Guiding in the country”.

“Jamborees are occasions when any organisation reaffirms, redeems and reorients, and I am sure that the activities in the Jamboree will help Scouts, Guides, Rovers and Rangers and other volunteers to develop leadership qualities, cooperative spirit and moral values. I am also sure that it will provide a good opportunity to its participants to exchange ideas and exhibit their skills and talents, and help create awareness among the youth about the values of national integration, service, discipline, patriotism and peaceful co-existence. India is a land of ancient civilization. By 2020 India will be the youngest country. It’s an asset only if they are skilled and oriented towards the service of the nation” added Mukherjee.

“While Scouting was making rapid progress overseas, in India too a move was initiated by Dr. Annie Besant, Dr. G S Arundale and other leaders, who foresaw the need of Scouting for the benefit of Indian boys as well. The Scouting Movement had the blessings of great luminaries like Mahatma Gandhi, Rajendra Prasad and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Subsequently, the movement has been patronised by successive presidents and prime ministers of India and chief ministers of States. I am informed that the Boy Scouts Associations in India and the Hindustan Scout Association were merged together on 7 November 1950 and later the Girl Guide Association in India also joined the main stream.

Royal family appreciates:

“The support and patronage of the Royal Family of erstwhile Mysuru State and other princely States of our country ensured tremendous growth of the movement. Successive State Governments also extended their support and are responsible for the successful existence and growth of the Movement today. I am happy to know that the Scouts and Guide Movement in India has been growing steadily from year to year and has a strength of over 5 Million Scouts and Guides today and I am sure that this International Youth Movement will enable school going children become better citizens of our great country. The Scouts and Guide Movement has stood the test of time and is relevant to this day even after 109 years of its existence. Today, there are over 50 million Scouts and Guides throughout the world in 216 countries and territories right from the impressionable age of 3 to 25 years.