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History

Scouting came to Indonesia in 1912, as a branch of the Nederlandse Padvinders Organisatie (NPO, Netherlands Pathfinder Organisation). After 1916 it was called the Nederland Indische Padvinders Vereeniging (Netherlands Indies Scout Movement). Other Scouting organizations were established by the Indonesia Scouts in 1916. As the Dutch East Indies, Indonesia had been a branch of the Netherlands Scout Association, yet Scouting was very popular, and had achieved great numbers and standards.

When Indonesia became an independent country, there were more than 60 separate Boy Scout and Girl Guide organizations. Most were directly affiliated with some certain political parties or social groups. Attempts were made to unify all Scout organizations into one.

The thousands of islands made administration and supervision difficult, and the Japanese occupation caused some twenty separate Scout organizations to spring up, and it took time for them to coalesce. In September 1951 thirteen of the stronger Scout organizations met and decided to found a federating body to satisfy national and international needs. Ikatan Pandu Indonesia - Ipindo for short - came into being. Tuan Soemardjo was elected chief commissioner, and Doctor Bahder Djohan, an old Scout and Minister of Education, became honorary President. Government approval of Ipindo was granted on February 22, 1952, and president Sukarno consented to become Patron of the unifying and correlating National Scout Council. Indonesia has been a member of WOSM since 1953.

This resulted in the establishment of a single Scout Movement in Indonesia called "Gerakan Pramuka". In May of 1961, the President of Indonesia signed a regulation making Gerakan Pramuka the official Scout organization in Indonesia.

Gerakan Pramuka is a former member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, having left WAGGGS and joined WOSM also for the girls in 2002.

After Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX, other Indonesian recipients of the Bronze Wolf, the only distinction of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, awarded by the World Scout Committee for exceptional services to world Scouting, include Abdul Azis Saleh in 1978, John Beng Kiat Liem in 1982 and Retired Lieutenant General Mashudi in 1985.