President's Bodyguard (India)

The President's Bodyguard (PBG) is an elite household cavalry regiment of the Indian Army. It is the senior-most regiment in the order of precedence of the units of the Indian Army. The primary role of the President's Bodyguard is to escort and protect the President of India. The regiment is based in the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, India. It is equipped as a mounted unit, with horses for ceremonies at the presidential palace and BTR-80 vehicles for use in combat.

This article is about an Indian military unit. For the Pakistani military unit with the same name, see President's Bodyguard (Pakistan).

President's Bodyguard
The mounted President's Bodyguard during a state visit by a foreign dignitary.
Active1773 – present
Country Republic of India
AllegianceIndia
Branch Indian Army
TypeHousehold cavalry
RoleCeremonial during peace; Armoured reconnaissance & parachute pathfinders during war.
Size222 (4 officers, 20 JCOs & 198 soldiers)[1]
Part of50th Parachute Brigade
Motto(s)Bharat Mata Ki Jai
(Victory to Mother India)[1]
MarchSare Jahan se Accha[1]
EquipmentBTR-80
Commanders
Colonel of the regimentColonel Anoop Tiwari
Ceremonial chiefPresident of India
Insignia
Identification
symbol		PBG

The personnel of the regiment are also trained as paratroopers and nominally are expected to lead in airborne assaults as pathfinders. The regiment is the successor of the Governor General's Bodyguard of the British Raj.

History
Main article: Governor General's Bodyguard
See also: President's Bodyguard (Pakistan)
Guard-changing ceremony outside the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President's House)
President's Bodyguard in summer ceremonial uniforms during changing of the guard
President's Bodyguard coming out of the Rashtrapati Bhavan in their winter ceremonial dress
Colonel T. S. Mundi, then commandant of the regiment, during full-dress rehearsal on 23 January 2013
Major Amit Bhardwaj moving towards forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan during full dress rehearsal on 23 January 2013
Lt. Col. Mahender Singh (former second-in-command of the regiment) in summer ceremonial uniform

The President's Bodyguard is the successor to the Governor General's Bodyguard of the Presidency armies and the British Indian Army. The Governor-General's Bodyguard was raised in September 1773 by Governor-General Warren Hastings from a handpicked 50 troopers of the Moghal Horse, itself raised in 1760 by local sirdars. In the same year, Maharaja Chait Singh of Benares provided another 50 troopers, raising the strength of the unit to 100. The first commander of the unit was Captain Sweeny Toone, an officer of the East India Company, who had Lieutenant Samuel Black as his subaltern.

During the Partition of India, British Indian Army was divided 2:1 between the Dominions of India and Pakistan. Muslim personnel of the regiment were transferred to the Pakistan Army to form the Governor General's Bodyguard in Pakistan. The rest of the regiment, comprising the Sikhs, Jats and Rajputs remained with the Indian Army. The Viceroy's gold-plated buggy was coveted by both India and Pakistan. Its fate was decided by a coin toss between Colonel Thakur Govind Singh (India) and Sahabzada Yaqub Khan (Pakistan) and India won the buggy.[2]

The regiment would be renamed the President's Bodyguard when India became a republic on 26 January 1950.

Names

The name of the regiment has changed throughout its history:

YearName
1773Governor's Troop of Moghuls
1784Governor-General's Bodyguard
1859Viceroy's Body Guard
194444th Divisional Reconnaissance Squadron
1946Governor-General's Bodyguard
1950President's Bodyguard

Strength and ethnic composition

The President's Bodyguard is open to only Jats, Rajputs and Jat Sikh castes which are taken in equal numbers 33.3 percent from the states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.[3][1] The basic height requirement for enlistment is 1.83 metres (6 ft 0 in).[1]

Battle honours

The President's Bodyguard has inherited the following battle honours:[4]

  • Java
  • Ava
  • Maharajpoor
  • Moodkee
  • Ferozeshah
  • Aliwal
  • Sobraon

all of which, except for "Java", are considered to be repugnant and cannot be carried on regimental colours.

Operational history

The President's Bodyguard has seen action in all of independent India's major wars. It rendered yeoman service in the capital and helped reinstate confidence in the general public in the aftermath of the Partition of India.

After independence, Humber and Daimler armoured cars formed the mounts of the regiment and were deployed in the defense of Chushul at heights above 14,000 ft during the 1962 Sino-Indian War.[5][6]

The regiment participated in Operation Ablaze in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. The regiment served in Siachen glacier, where it has been serving till date. A detachment of the regiment was a part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to Sri Lanka during 1988–89, and Indian contingents to the UN Peace Keeping Forces in Somalia, Angola and Sierra Leone.

Standards, guidons & banners

Each successive viceroy presented a banner to the Bodyguard upon assuming office; the banners of previous viceroys being kept in the custody of the regiment. The practice continues in effect until the present day with each President of India presenting a silver trumpet to the regiment - although the coat-of-arms of the Viceroy is replaced by the monogram of the President.

The first trumpet with banner of the President was presented by Rajendra Prasad on 14 May 1957. It had a maroon background with the emblem and crest in gold thread. The design incorporated the initials of Rajendra Prasad in Devanagri script in the centre and four emblems in gold in all four corners of the banner, from the Presidential Standard of India. Prasad's personal standard was presented to the regiment on 18 January 1958 by the President himself. In November 1958, President Prasad presented a new Regimental Standard to the regiment, the previous Regimental Standard having been laid up after India became a republic. The old regimental standard rests in the Regiment Officer's mess.

The second president of India, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan presented his banner to the regiment on 21 October 1962. His banner, with a grey background with emblem and crest in gold thread, incorporated his initials in Devanagari script in the center and four emblems in gold in the four corners, from the presidential standard. The new President's Standard of the Body Guard and the Regimental Standard were awarded by President Radhakrishnan on 11 November 1963. The Regimental Standard is dark blue in colour with the regimental crest in the centre surrounded by lotus flowers and Ashoka leaves. Five scrolls on either side of the crest record the regiment's Battle Honours and the standard bears the motto "Bharat Mata ki Jai".

Present status

In 2003, the President's Bodyguard had an establishment of 7 officers, 15 JCOs, and 140 enlisted men, for a total strength of 180. Throughout its history, the Bodyguard has varied in size from 50 men, when first raised, to 1929 men in 1845. However, it was usually around squadron size, or about 130 men.

By tradition, the commanding officer has always been a brigadier or colonel. Recruitment to the regiment in India is now 1/3 each from Sikh Jats, Hindu Jats, and Rajputs, with officers and administrative staff from all over India.[7][8][3] Its current commanding officer is Colonel Anoop Tiwari and the second-in-command is Lieutenant Colonel Ramakant Yadav.[9]

See also

References
  1. Nath, Ashok (2009). Izzat: historical records and iconography of Indian cavalry regiments, 1750-2007. Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research, United Service Institution of India. pp. 542–543. ISBN 978-81-902097-7-9.
  2. "Droupadi Murmu gives traditional buggy a miss during swearing-in ceremony: A look back at its glorious history". Firstpost. India. 22 June 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  3. "Only three castes may apply to join the President's Bodyguard, but army still alleges there's no caste bias". Firstpost. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  4. Singh, Sarbans (1993). Battle Honours of the Indian Army 1757 - 1971. New Delhi: Vision Books. ISBN 978-81-7094-115-6.
  5. "The President's Bodyguard". The President of India. The President's Secretariat, Government of India. 2012. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  6. Bhat, Anil (2011). "A Tryst with India's History". Salute magazine. Archived from the original on 23 March 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  7. Wilkinson, Steven I. (2015). Army and Nation: The Military and Indian Democracy since Independence. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674967007. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  8. Gautam, PK (2016). Indigenous Historical Knowledge: Kautilya and His Vocabulary, Volume III. IDSA/Pentagon Press. p. 153. ISBN 978-81-8274-909-2.
  9. "President Kovind arrives at Rajpath, receives 21 Gun Salute on 73rd Republic Day". ANI News. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
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