By Ravi Kant Singh, IANS
New Delhi : One of the oldest and probably the most visible regiments of the Indian Army, the President’s Body Guards (PBG), celebrate their 234th raising Sunday.
Raised Sep 30, 1773, as the Governor General’s Body Guards under the command of Captain Sweeny Toone, the regiment can be seen performing ceremonial duties with the head of state on all important occasions, smartly attired in their colourful tunics, rather than the olive greens or camouflage uniform usually associated with an army unit.
The regiment was re-christened the Viceroy’s Body Guards (VRBG) after the 1857 mutiny (War of Independence) when India’s governance came directly under the British Crown, passed on from the East India Company.
The then commandant, Colonel G. Gelane, remains the longest serving officer with the elite regiment, having spent 27 years in charge until he retired in 1874.
It finally became the President’s Body Guards in 1947 when Major Peter Hussey presided over the division of the regiment’s assets between India and Pakistan.
The regiment till then mainly comprised Muslims and Sikhs. Sahazada Yaqub Khan, then second in command to Major Hussey, was the only member of his illustrious family to go to Pakistan with the Muslim men of the regiment. Son of the Nawab of Rampur in Uttar Pradesh, Khan retired from the Pakistan Army with the rank of lieutenant general.
Khan’s older brother Yunus Khan of the Garhwal Rifles remained in the Indian Army and rose to the rank of major general and also had the honour of serving as the deputy military secretary to the president before retirement.
Major Thakur Govind Singh of the Jaipur Guards had the honour of being the first PBG commandant in independent India.
Six-foot plus expert horsemen as well as trained paratroopers comprise the PBG, which has more than 200 men and just three officers in the regiment.
“A love for riding is a must for any officer volunteering to join the PBG since most of our duties are ceremonial, whether it’s the Republic Day parade, the president addressing parliament, welcoming visiting heads of state and state banquets,” said Colonel Ali Adil Mahmood, the present PBG commandant.
“We have 81 horses for the regiment’s 140 riders plus another 10 for the beautiful buggies in the Rashtrapati Bhavan stables, which are hardly used now,” added the commandant, who is in his second stint with the regiment after having served as the PBG adjutant 1994-97.
Because of its unique requirements, the PBG has been designated as a separate corps with its own recruitment centre and records.
Apart from the ceremonial business, the PBG is attached to the Para Brigade for wartime duties, its officers and ‘sawars’ (riders) having seen action during the 1965 and 1971 conflicts with Pakistan as well as in Sri Lanka in 1987-90.
“Half of our troops have done at least one stint in Siachen, the highest battlefield on earth. Since we are small in numbers, we can only send 10-20 troops on extra regimental employment plus riding instructors to the Indian Military Academy (Dehradun), National Defence Academy (Khadakvasla) and the Officers’ Training School (Chennai),” said Col Mahmood, himself a tank-man from the armoured corps whose love of riding made him volunteer for the PBG.
Till a few years ago the PBG officers usually came from the only horse-mounted regiment in the world, 61 Cavalry, and they retired soon after completing their tenure serving directly under the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
But with more and more armoured corps officers opting to serve the PBG, at least four former commandants have risen to the rank of major general. General Officer Commading-in- Chief Lt. General Aditya Singh of the Southern Command is a former PBG officer achieving the highest rank in the army.
Singh retires Sunday.
Being expert riders, the PBG has had its share of excellent polo players as well.
Major Pradeep Mehra was one of the first Indians to reach a five-goal handicap post-Independence and Brigadier V.P. Singh remains the only seven-goal player in the country since 1947.
But the PBG remains an elite force in the Indian Army performing a unique function of providing colour on important occasions, tall men mounted on impressive horses carrying 10-foot lances decorated with the regimental colours.
With its two centuries-plus history, the PBG officers’ mess is a treasure trove in the annals of the Indian military with rare photographs and specially commissioned paintings adorning its walls.
More than military might, the PBG stands tall for the traditions and valour of the Indian Army.