Colonial period Scouting came to
Dutch East Indies in 1912, as a branch of the
Nederlandse Padvinders Organisatie (NPO, Netherlands Pathfinder Organisation). After the outbreak of World War I had its own large quartier, it was called the
Vereeniging Nederlandsch Indische Padvinders (Association of Dutch Indies Pathfinders). 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. The Scouting organisation initiated by Indonesians was the
Javaansche Padvinders Organisatie (JPO); established at the initiative of
S.P. Mangkunegara VII in 1916. As scouting organizations sprung up, scouting became inline with the national movement. Scouting organizations that sprung are the
Padvinder Muhammadiyah which in 1920 changed its name to
Hizbul Wathan (HW);
Nationale Padvinderij founded by
Budi Utomo;
Syarikat Islam established
Syarikat Islam Afdeling Padvinderij which was later changed to
Syarikat Islam Afdeling Pandu and is better known as SIAP,
Nationale Islamietische Padvinderij (NATIPIJ) established by
Jong Islamieten Bond (JIB) and
Indonesisch Nationale Padvinders Organisatie (INPO) established by Pemuda Indonesia. In Jakarta, the
Jong Indonesische Padvinders-Organisatie (JIPO) was established in the same year. The desire for unity for Indonesian scouting organisations at that time appeared to begin with the formation of the
Persaudaraan Antara Pandu Indonesia (PAPI), a federation of
Pandu Kebangsaan, INPO, SIAP, NATIPIJ, and PPS on 23 May 1928. This federation did not last long due to the intention of fusion. As a result, the
Kepanduan Bangsa Indonesia (KBI) was founded in 1930 by figures from
Jong Java Padvinders /
Pandu Kebangsaan (JJP / PK), INPO, and PPS. PAPI later evolved into the
Badan Pusat Persaudaran Kepanduan Indonesia (BPPKI, Central Body of the Indonesian Scouting Fraternity) in April 1938. Between 1928-1935, the Indonesian scouting movement emerged, both with a national and religious mindset. scouts with a national mindset can be noted as
Pandu Indonesia (PI),
Padvinders Organisatie Pasundan (POP),
Pandu Kesultanan (PK),
Sinar Pandu Kita (SPK), and
Kepanduan Rakyat Indonesia (KRI). Meanwhile, those who follow the religious mindset founded
Pandu Ansor,
Al Wathoni,
Hizbul Wathan, Indonesian Islamic Scouting (KII),
Islamitische Padvinders Organisatie (IPO),
Tri Darma (Christian), Indonesian Catholic Scouting (KAKI), Indonesian Christian Scouting (KMI). In an effort to foster unity, the Central Board of the Indonesian Scouting Fraternity (BPPKI) planned an "All-Indonesian Jamboree". This plan underwent several changes both in the time of implementation and the name of the activity, which was later agreed to be replaced with
Perkemahan Kepanduan Indonesia Oemoem (abbreviated as PERKINO) and held on 19-23 July 1941 in Yogyakarta.
Formation 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. And there was one national organization - the People's Scouts (
Pandu Rakyat Indonesia), founded on 27–29 December 1945, just almost half a year since independence, in its 1st Congress in Surakarta. Attempts were made to unify all Scout organizations into one. The fact that Indonesia is made up of many 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, in a Jakarta conference, the People's Scouts, recognized by the Ministry of Education twice in 1947 and 1950 as the official Scout organization of the young nation, and the other 12 of the stronger Scout and Guide organizations nationwide met and decided to found a federating body to satisfy national and international needs. Representatives of these organizations decided that the time had come to merge into one national organization for Indonesian Scouting and Guiding. With their cooperation, the
Ikatan Pandu Indonesia (Ipindo, Indonesian Scouting Union) came into being. Government approval of Ipindo was granted on 22 February 1952, and President
Sukarno consented to become patron of the unifying and correlating National Scout Council. With the formation of Ipindo, Indonesia became a full member of the
World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1953 as an organization of its Asia-Pacific Region. In 1955 the Ipindo hosted the country's first Scout Jamboree in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta. With the beginning of the Guided Democracy period came a period of unification of all Scout and Guide organizations into one. On 9 March 1961, in the State Palace of Jakarta, in the presence of Ipinido representatives and those of other organizations, President Sukarno gave his blessing for the unification of Indonesian Scouting and Guiding into one national organization. With the April 1961 decision to merge the
Fadjar Harapan (a
pioneer movement founded in 1959) and other organizations into Ipindo, the establishment of a single Scout Movement organization in Indonesia called
Gerakan Pramuka was officially completed. On 20 May 1961, President Sukarno signed a presidential regulation formally declaring the new Gerakan Pramuka as the official Scout and Guide organization in Indonesia and official heir and successor to the legacies of the former Scout and Guide organizations of the republic, inheriting thus Indonesia's membership in WOSM from Ipindo. On 30 July, at the
Istora Gelora Bung Karno in Jakarta, the GPI was officially launched as the country's national co-ed Scouting and Guiding organization on the basis of the existing organizations in the republic. Gerakan Pramuka is a former member of the
World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, having left WAGGGS and added the girls' program to WOSM also 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. Gerakan Pramuka was made into a compulsory
extracurricular activity in 2013 with the adoption of
Kurikulum 2013, the Indonesian school
curriculum of 2013. Despite that, schools, especially elementary schools, have made Pramuka into a compulsory extracurricular activity long before this policy. With the change into
Kurikulum Merdeka (Independent Curriculum), starting from 2024, students are no longer required to participate in Pramuka, but it must still be offered by schools.
Founding organizations By the time the GPI was founded in 1961, the following organizations helped in its formation: •
Ikatan Pandu Indonesia (Ipindo) •
Fadjar Harapan •
Persatuan Kepanduan Puteri Indonesia (PKPI) •
Persatuan Organisasi Pandu Puteri Indonesia (POPPINDO) •
Hizbul Wathan (GPHW) of
Muhammadiyah, later separated from GPI in 1999 ==Programme==