The President’s Bodyguard is the Indian Army’s oldest regiment, and invites members from only three castes — Jats, Rajputs and Jat Sikhs — to apply for recruitment. AFP
In a grand and visually spectacular ceremony, President Droupadi Murmu will present the Silver Trumpet and Trumpet Banner to the President’s Bodyguard (PBG) today.
The one-and-a-half-hour ceremony to be held at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan will see horsemen displaying a variety of traditional Indian equestrian skills followed by the horses trotting in line with the music of the military band.
We take a closer look at who exactly are the President’s Bodyguard and their significance in military history.
Who are the President’s Bodyguard?
The President’s Bodyguard is a 200-strong cavalry unit assigned to protect the President of India. The PBG as they are commonly called escort the President and hence, the regiment is based in the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
The PBG is the oldest regiment of the Indian Army and has completed 248 years of service this year, say official records.
It is also the seniormost in the Indian Army whose distinction is in its position as ‘Right of the Line’ on all official and ceremonial occasions. The PBG, thus, takes precedence over all other regiments and corps.
The PBG personnel are trained as paratroopers and nominally are expected to lead in airborne assaults in the role of pathfinders. They come equipped with horses for ceremonies at the presidential palace and BTR-80 vehicles for use in combat.
When did the PBG come into existence?
The PBG has a very interesting history connected to it.
It was raised in 1773 at Benares (now Varanasi) by then Governor Warren Hastings, with a strength of 50 handpicked troopers from the Moghal Horse, a unit which was raised in 1760 by local sirdars and the same year.
This unit was augmented by Raja Cheyt Singh of Benaras, who provided another 50 troopers that took 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.
Through the years, the name of the regiment has changed. In 1773, it was called Governor’s Troop of Mughals, which changed to Governor-General’s Bodyguard in 1784. In 1859, the regiment was then renamed as Viceroy’s Body Guard, then renamed again as 44th Divisional Reconnaissance Squadron in 1944. In 1946, the horsemen were called Governor-General’s Bodyguard and finally changed to President’s Bodyguard in 1950.
Graphic: Pranay Bhardwaj
Who is part of the PBG?
Today, the PBG recruits paratroopers and men above six feet in height from only three castes — Jats, Rajputs and Jat Sikhs. Their presentation and appearance has always been so striking that at one point of time they were referred to as ‘God’s Gift to Beautiful Girls’ — a play on the acronym for the Governor General’s Body Guards, one of their former titles.
The lineage of the men in the regiment has been questioned, with the matter even reaching the Delhi High Court. Haryana resident Gaurav Yadav, belonging to the Ahir/Yadav caste, had stated in court that he fulfilled all the eligibility criteria of recruitment except his caste, and sought that he be recruited for the post.
However, recruitment for the PBG has varied over the years.
Initially, recruitment was almost exclusively from among ‘Mussalmans’ of the area of eastern Uttar Pradesh. Towards the last decade of the 18th century, Brahmins from Bengal began to replace the earlier “Moghuls”.
In 1800, the recruitment pool was changed from the Bengal Presidency to the Madras Presidency and the Governor General’s Body Guards (GGBG) was reconstituted with troopers from the Madras cavalry for the next 60 years. During this period, south-Indian castes formed the bulk of the unit.
Records say that after the Great Mutiny of 1857, the centre of recruitment of the Indian Army was shifted from Awadh and south India to North India. The GGBG was no exception and Sikhs were enlisted for the first time in August 1883 and Punjabi Muslims in October 1887. The recruitment of Brahmins and Rajputs ceased in 1895. After that, the proportions of recruits was fixed at 50 per cent Sikhs and 50 per cent Muslims.
The Print reports that after the birth of Pakistan, the Muslim component of the Bodyguard was allotted to Pakistan and recruitment to the regiment in India was opened, in equal share, to Sikhs, Jats and Rajputs.
The President’s Bodyguard is based in the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. AFP
What is the operational history of PBG?
Since being formed, the PBG fought all the main battles of the First Sikh War and earned four Battle honours. After independence, PBG saw action in all the major wars. In 1962 Indo-China war, PBG armoured cars were the first one to be airlifted to Chusul. It also participated in Operation Ablaze in the 1965 Indo-Pak war.
The regiment also served in the Siachen glacier where it has been serving till date. A detachment of the regiment has been part of the Indian Peace Keeping Forces to Sri Lanka during 1988-89 and Indian contingents to UN Peace Keeping Forces to Somalia, Angola and Sierra Leone.
What about the horses?
Just as there are high standards for the men serving in this regiment, there are high standards for the horses used. The bodyguards ride only the finest horses. Like their riders, protocol dictates their height and dimensions: at least 15 hands (1.58 metres) tall.
The horses with the PBG are the best-groomed horses in the country. As per a National Geogrphic documentary The President’s Bodyguard, the bond between the soldiers and their horses is one of the key characteristics of this regiment. The men are devoted horsemen and for many, there comes a stage when riding becomes a daily need more than a duty.
With inputs from agencies
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