Scouting in Burma
Encyclopedia
Scouting in Burma had a five-decade history. Today Burma is one of only five of the world's independent countries without an active Scouting movement. However, the 2010 elections
now appear to have produced changes which may allow for a rebirth of the movement.
was founded in Burma as part of the British Indian branch of The Scout Association
during the colonial period
, introduced in 1910 for British dependents. By 1913, Lone Scouts
were found in Burma. Later, Scouting was opened to the Burmese
. In 1922, Burmese Scouting became a separate branch of the British headquarters in London
, but shared the same Chief Scout
as India, the Viceroy
. In the Burmese language
, the Burmese Scouts were known as (kɪ́ɴdauʔ màuɴ) while the Girl Guides were known as (kɪ́ɴdauʔ mɛ̀).
' The Left Handshake, written in 1948:
J. S. Wilson, Director of the Boy Scouts International Bureau, visited Burma in 1952. Wilson's sole journey outside Rangoon was to fly to Myaungmya
in the Irrawaddy Delta
. Scouting in that district was due to the enthusiasm of a Gurkha
Preventive Officer, who formed all the official and influential men in the town into a Local Association. Many of those auxiliary leaders were given preliminary Scout training. Scouters and Guiders received more intensive training, while he apprenticed a successor as District Commissioner. Wilson met Bluebirds and Guides, Cubs and Scouts at a refugee village rapidly becoming a cooperative settlement; Guides and Scouts in their own locale; as well as a little band of Scouts in the compound of a Buddhist monastery
across the river.
Burma sent a representative to the 1957 Far East Scouters' Regional Pow-Wow held at Sutton Park
, England. By 1959 the nation counted 13,889 members, and the University of Rangoon in 1960 hosted the Second Far East Regional Scout Conference, with the First Far East Professional Scouters Training Conference held at Inyale
Camp in Rangoon as an ancillary event. Tin Tun
represented UBBS in the five-man Far East Scout Advisory Committee (FESAC). Burma's Ba Htay
was elected one of the earliest chairmen of FESAC, which would later become the Asia-Pacific Region, and served from 1958 to 1960. Boy and Girl Scouts in Burma
merged in 1962 to form the coeducational Union of Burma Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, which was active until 1964, reaching a membership high-point of 93,562.
rallies at Rangoon's Inyale Training Center. Scouts' Day was celebrated every January 1 in Rangoon. In 1958, UBBS published the Handbook for Patrol Leaders in the Burmese language
.
course was conducted by John Thurman, Camp Chief of Gilwell Park
in 1962.
rule ended in 1962 when General Ne Win
led a military coup d'état
. Almost all aspects of society (business, media, production) were nationalized or brought under government control (including the Boy Scouts). On 1 March 1964 the military government dissolved the UBBS, Lieutenant Ye Htoon
, the Director General of UBBSGG reported. The assets of the association were turned over to the Ministry of Education, which was authorized to form its socialist youth organization
, the youth wing of the Burma Socialist Programme Party
. Girl Guiding
was not immediately outlawed, and the standalone Union of Burma Girl Guides Association
remained a member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
, and was last mentioned by WAGGGS in 1969.
of the World Organization of the Scout Movement
, "We hope to work on (Laos and Burma) again... Laos is the closest, as we have got Cambodia in already... Just like Vietnam... we are working with them through ASEAN Scouting. We hope to enroll all the countries including China in (the Asia-Pacific Scout Region)."
Burmese general election, 2010
A general election was held in Burma on 2010, in accordance with the new constitution which was approved in a referendum held in...
now appear to have produced changes which may allow for a rebirth of the movement.
History
ScoutingScouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....
was founded in Burma as part of the British Indian branch of The Scout Association
The Scout Association
The Scout Association is the World Organization of the Scout Movement recognised Scouting association in the United Kingdom. Scouting began in 1907 through the efforts of Robert Baden-Powell. The Scout Association was formed under its previous name, The Boy Scout Association, in 1910 by the grant...
during the colonial period
British rule in Burma
British rule in Burma lasted from 1824 to 1948, from the Anglo-Burmese Wars through the creation of Burma as a province of British India to the establishment of an independently administered colony, and finally independence...
, introduced in 1910 for British dependents. By 1913, Lone Scouts
Lone Scouts
Lone Scouts are members of the Scout movement who are in isolated areas or otherwise cannot participate in a regular Scouting unit. In order for a boy to become a Lone Scout, he must meet the membership requirements of the area's Scouting organization and have an adult counselor who may be a...
were found in Burma. Later, Scouting was opened to the Burmese
Bamar
The Bamar are the dominant ethnic group of Burma , constituting approximately two-thirds of the population. The Bamar live primarily in the Irrawaddy basin, and speak the Burmese language, which is also the official language of Burma. Bamar customs and identity are closely intertwined with general...
. In 1922, Burmese Scouting became a separate branch of the British headquarters in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, but shared the same Chief Scout
Chief Scout
The Chief Scout is the uniformed head of a Scouting organisation:*For the Chief Scout of the World see: Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell*For the head of The Scout Association see: Chief Scout...
as India, the Viceroy
Governor-General of India
The Governor-General of India was the head of the British administration in India, and later, after Indian independence, the representative of the monarch and de facto head of state. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William...
. In the Burmese language
Burmese language
The Burmese language is the official language of Burma. Although the constitution officially recognizes it as the Myanmar language, most English speakers continue to refer to the language as Burmese. Burmese is the native language of the Bamar and related sub-ethnic groups of the Bamar, as well as...
, the Burmese Scouts were known as (kɪ́ɴdauʔ màuɴ) while the Girl Guides were known as (kɪ́ɴdauʔ mɛ̀).
World War II
In Hilary Saint George SaundersHilary Saint George Saunders
Hilary Aidan Saint George Saunders was a British author. Saunders was born in Clifton, near Bristol. During World War I he served with the Welsh Guards....
' The Left Handshake, written in 1948:
Postwar Scouting
Upon independence, the Union of Burma Boy Scouts was recognized in the spring of 1948. It was one of the founding National Scout Organizations of the Far East Regional Scout Conference. Because of the war and its aftermath, Scouting had almost disappeared, but former Scouters and Old Scouts made strenuous efforts to revive it.J. S. Wilson, Director of the Boy Scouts International Bureau, visited Burma in 1952. Wilson's sole journey outside Rangoon was to fly to Myaungmya
Myaungmya
Myaungmya is a town in Myaungmya Township, Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar.The town is home to the Myanmar Union Adventist Seminary, a Seventh Day Adventist seminary and Myaungmya Education College....
in the Irrawaddy Delta
Ayeyarwady River
The Irrawaddy River or Ayeyarwady River is a river that flows from north to south through Burma . It is the country's largest river and most important commercial waterway. Originating from the confluence of the N'mai and Mali rivers, it flows relatively straight North-South before emptying through...
. Scouting in that district was due to the enthusiasm of a Gurkha
Gurkha
Gurkha are people from Nepal who take their name from the Gorkha District. Gurkhas are best known for their history in the Indian Army's Gorkha regiments, the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas and the Nepalese Army. Gurkha units are closely associated with the kukri, a forward-curving Nepalese knife...
Preventive Officer, who formed all the official and influential men in the town into a Local Association. Many of those auxiliary leaders were given preliminary Scout training. Scouters and Guiders received more intensive training, while he apprenticed a successor as District Commissioner. Wilson met Bluebirds and Guides, Cubs and Scouts at a refugee village rapidly becoming a cooperative settlement; Guides and Scouts in their own locale; as well as a little band of Scouts in the compound of a Buddhist monastery
Vihara
Vihara is the Sanskrit and Pali term for a Buddhist monastery. It originally meant "a secluded place in which to walk", and referred to "dwellings" or "refuges" used by wandering monks during the rainy season....
across the river.
Burma sent a representative to the 1957 Far East Scouters' Regional Pow-Wow held at Sutton Park
Sutton Park
Sutton Park, in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England, is one of the largest urban parks in Europe and the largest outside a capital city; it is larger than Richmond Park in London....
, England. By 1959 the nation counted 13,889 members, and the University of Rangoon in 1960 hosted the Second Far East Regional Scout Conference, with the First Far East Professional Scouters Training Conference held at Inyale
Inya Lake
Inya Lake is the largest lake in Yangon, Burma , a popular recreational area for Yangonites, and a famous location for romance in popular culture...
Camp in Rangoon as an ancillary event. Tin Tun
Tin Tun
Tin Tun is a jailed Burmese political dissident, Asian boxing champion, and one of the pioneers of the now-extinct Scouting movement in that nation, imprisoned under the Publishing and Printing Act in July 1993 for possessing a copy of the Khit Pyaing Journal, a banned news magazine published by...
represented UBBS in the five-man Far East Scout Advisory Committee (FESAC). Burma's Ba Htay
Ba Htay
Ba Htay was a Burmese administrator, the Chairman of the Multi-Party Democracy General Election Commission and one of the pioneers of the now-extinct Scouting movement in Burma....
was elected one of the earliest chairmen of FESAC, which would later become the Asia-Pacific Region, and served from 1958 to 1960. Boy and Girl Scouts in Burma
Union of Burma Girl Guides Association
The Union of Burma Girl Guides Association was the organization for Girl Guides in Burma. Boy Scouts and Girl Guides in Burma merged in 1962 to form the coeducational Union of Burma Boy Scouts and Girl Guides , which was active until 1964, reaching a membership high-point of 93,562.-Program:The...
merged in 1962 to form the coeducational Union of Burma Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, which was active until 1964, reaching a membership high-point of 93,562.
Youth program
Aside from the traditional UBBS scheme for training youth in patrols and troops, the visibility of Scouting in the urban and rural communities consisted of citywide Cleaning Week campaigns, "Safety-on-the-Road" services, and Cub ScoutCub Scout
A Cub Scout is a member of the section of the worldwide Scouting movement for young persons, mainly boys normally aged about 7 to 11. In some countries they are known by their original name of Wolf Cubs and are often referred to simply as Cubs. The movement is often referred to simply as Cubbing...
rallies at Rangoon's Inyale Training Center. Scouts' Day was celebrated every January 1 in Rangoon. In 1958, UBBS published the Handbook for Patrol Leaders in the Burmese language
Burmese language
The Burmese language is the official language of Burma. Although the constitution officially recognizes it as the Myanmar language, most English speakers continue to refer to the language as Burmese. Burmese is the native language of the Bamar and related sub-ethnic groups of the Bamar, as well as...
.
Adult training
The UBBS conducted a series of intensive training in the five regions of the country. In addition to the Cub Scout and Scout leaders' basic training courses, a Wood BadgeWood Badge
Wood Badge is a Scouting leadership program and the related award for adult leaders in the programs of Scout associations throughout the world. Wood Badge courses aim to make Scouters better leaders by teaching advanced leadership skills, and by creating a bond and commitment to the Scout movement...
course was conducted by John Thurman, Camp Chief of Gilwell Park
Gilwell Park
Gilwell Park is a camp site and activity centre for Scouting groups, as well as a training and conference centre for Scout Leaders. The 44 hectare site is in Sewardstonebury, Epping Forest, close to Chingford, London....
in 1962.
Scout Motto
The Scout Motto was ʔəsʰɪ̀ɴðɪ̰ɴ̩ asinthint, translated "Always Prepared".Disbandment
DemocraticDemocracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
rule ended in 1962 when General Ne Win
Ne Win
Ne Win was Burmese a politician and military commander. He was Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974 and also head of state from 1962 to 1981...
led a military coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
. Almost all aspects of society (business, media, production) were nationalized or brought under government control (including the Boy Scouts). On 1 March 1964 the military government dissolved the UBBS, Lieutenant Ye Htoon
Ye Htoon
Ye Htoon, also known as Roland Chan Htoon , was a prominent Burmese lawyer, sometime-jailed political dissident, and a successful entrepreneur, and one of the notables of the now-extinct Scouting movement in Burma....
, the Director General of UBBSGG reported. The assets of the association were turned over to the Ministry of Education, which was authorized to form its socialist youth organization
All Burma Students League
The All Burma Students League is a Burmese youth movement outlawed by the military junta, and is a participatory member of the International Union of Socialist Youth.-References:*...
, the youth wing of the Burma Socialist Programme Party
Burma Socialist Programme Party
Burma Socialist Programme Party was formed by the Ne Win's military regime that seized power in 1962 and was the sole political party allowed to exist legally in Burma during the period of military rule from 1964 until its demise in the aftermath of the popular uprising of 1988.-History:The BSPP...
. Girl Guiding
Girl Guides
A Guide, Girl Guide or Girl Scout is a member of a section of some Guiding organisations who is between the ages of 10 and 14. Age limits are different in each organisation. It is the female-centred equivalent of the Scouts. The term Girl Scout is used in the United States and several East Asian...
was not immediately outlawed, and the standalone Union of Burma Girl Guides Association
Union of Burma Girl Guides Association
The Union of Burma Girl Guides Association was the organization for Girl Guides in Burma. Boy Scouts and Girl Guides in Burma merged in 1962 to form the coeducational Union of Burma Boy Scouts and Girl Guides , which was active until 1964, reaching a membership high-point of 93,562.-Program:The...
remained a member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is a global association supporting the female-oriented and female-only Scouting organizations in 145 countries. It was established in 1928 and has its headquarters in London, England. It is the counterpart of the World Organization of the Scout...
, and was last mentioned by WAGGGS in 1969.
Work at rebirth
According to Eric Khoo Heng-PhengEric Khoo Heng-Pheng
Eric Khoo Heng-Pheng, from Tranquerah, Malacca, Malaysia, , is one of 12 elected volunteer members of the World Scout Committee, the main executive body of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, and Chairman of its Asia Pacific Regional Scout Committee, elected in 2001...
of the World Organization of the Scout Movement
World Organization of the Scout Movement
The World Organization of the Scout Movement is the Non-governmental international organization which governs most national Scout Organizations, with 31 million members. WOSM was established in 1920, and has its headquarters at Geneva, Switzerland...
, "We hope to work on (Laos and Burma) again... Laos is the closest, as we have got Cambodia in already... Just like Vietnam... we are working with them through ASEAN Scouting. We hope to enroll all the countries including China in (the Asia-Pacific Scout Region)."
See also
- The Bharat Scouts and GuidesThe Bharat Scouts and GuidesThe Bharat Scouts and Guides is the national Scouting and Guiding association of India.Scouting was founded in India in 1909 as an overseas branch of the Scout Association and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1938...
- Bangladesh ScoutsBangladesh ScoutsThe Bangladesh Scouts is the national Scouting organization of Bangladesh. Scouting was founded in Bangladesh as part of the British Indian branch of The Scout Association, and continued as part of the Pakistan Boy Scouts Association until the country's divided sections split in 1971 during the...
- Pakistan Boy Scouts AssociationPakistan Boy Scouts AssociationThe Pakistan Boy Scouts Association is the national Scouting organization of Pakistan and has 526,626 members . Scouting was founded in Pakistan as part of the British Indian branch of The Scout Association...
- Edward Michael Law-Yone