The President's Bodyguard (PBG) is an elite household cavalry

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

of the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

. It is the senior-most regiment in the

order of precedence An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of importance applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. For individuals, it is most often used for diplomats in attendance at very formal occasions. It can also be used in the context of ...

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 president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

. The regiment is based in the Rashtrapati Bhavan in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is equipped as a mounted unit, with horses for ceremonies at the presidential palace and BTR-80 vehicles for use in combat. The personnel of the regiment are also trained as paratroopers and nominally are expected to lead in airborne assaults as pathfinders. The regiment was previously the Governor General's Bodyguard of the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

History

The President's Bodyguard was previously the Governor General's Bodyguard of the

Presidency armies The presidency armies were the armies of the three Presidencies of British India, presidencies of the East India Company's Company rule in India, rule in India, later the forces of the the Crown, British Crown in British Raj, India, composed pr ...

and the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

. The Governor-General's Bodyguard was raised in September 1773 by Governor-General

Warren Hastings Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first governor-gener ...

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 Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges, Ganges river in North India, northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hinduism, Hindu world.* * * * The city ...

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 The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

was divided 2:1 between the Dominions of

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. Muslim personnel of the regiment were transferred to the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

to form the Governor General's Bodyguard in Pakistan. The rest of the regiment, comprising the Sikhs, Jats and Rajputs remained with the

. 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. 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:

Strength and ethnic composition

The President's Bodyguard is open to only Jats,

Rajputs Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

and Jat Sikh castes which are taken in equal numbers 33.3 percent from the states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. The basic height requirement for enlistment is . The regiment also has an operational role and has small unit on rotation to high altitude area, such as, Siachin, East Ladakh and Sikkim. The NCOs, JCOs and Officers of the regiment are trained tank-man, paratroopers, and horse-riders. There are 100 horses in the regiment.

Battle honours

The President's Bodyguard has inherited the following battle honours: * 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

. After independence,

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Trent, Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms ...

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. The regiment participated in Operation Ablaze in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. The regiment served in

Siachen glacier The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range of the Himalayas, just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends in northeastern Kashmir. At long, it is the longest glaci ...

, where it has been serving till date with a section (6-20 troops) led by a JCO. 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

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 Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, journalist and scholar who served as the first president of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian National Congress during the Indian independen ...

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 Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (; 5 September 188817 April 1975; natively Radhakrishna) was an Indian academician, philosopher and statesman who served as the President of India from 1962 to 1967. He previously served as the vice president of ...

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 Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

or colonel. Recruitment to the regiment in India is now 1/3 each from Sikh Jats, Hindu Jats, and

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

s, with officers and administrative staff from all over India. Its current commanding officer is Colonel Anoop Tiwari and the second-in-command is Lieutenant Colonel Ramakant Yadav.

Gallery

File:Indian President`s Bodyguard at Rashtrapati Bhavan.jpg, Guard-changing ceremony outside the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President's House) File:Presidents' Body Guard.jpg, President's Bodyguard in summer ceremonial uniforms during changing of the guard File:PBG (my own photo).JPG, President's Bodyguard coming out of the Rashtrapati Bhavan in their winter ceremonial dress File:Col T S Mundi.jpg, Colonel T. S. Mundi, then commandant of the regiment, during full-dress rehearsal on 23 January 2013 File:Major Amit Bharadwaj.jpg, Major Amit Bhardwaj moving towards forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan during full dress rehearsal on 23 January 2013 File:LtColMahenderSingh-1.JPG, Lt. Col. Mahender Singh (former

second-in-command Second-in-command (2i/c or 2IC) is a title denoting that the holder of the title is the second-highest authority within a certain organisation. Usage In the British Army or Royal Marines, the second-in-command is the deputy commander of a unit, f ...

of the regiment) in summer ceremonial uniform

References

External links

The President's Bodyguard

The PBG Man Wins Medal
* * *
The President's Bodyguard documentary
{{Authority control Protective security units Armoured and cavalry regiments of the Indian Army from 1947 Guards regiments Indian ceremonial units