President's Bodyguard (India)
Encyclopedia
Household Cavalry
The term Household Cavalry is used across the Commonwealth to describe the cavalry of the Household Divisions, a country’s most elite or historically senior military groupings or those military groupings that provide functions associated directly with the Head of state.Canada's Governor General's...
regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
of the Indian Army
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...
. It is senior-most in the order of precedence
Order of precedence
An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance of items. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments...
of the units of the Indian Army. The primary role of the President's Bodyguard is to escort and protect the President of India
President of India
The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...
which is why the regiment is based in the Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It is equipped as a mounted unit, with horses for ceremonies at the presidential palace and BTR-60
BTR-60
The BTR-60 is the first vehicle in a series of Soviet eight-wheeled armoured personnel carriers. It was developed in the late 1950s as a replacement for the BTR-152 and was seen first time in public in 1961...
vehicles for use in combat. The personnel of the regiment are also trained as paratroopers and nominally are expected to lead in airborne assaults in the role of pathfinders.
History
The first bodyguard to be raised in India was in 1773 when European troops, already recruited into the East India Company's service as infantry, were earmarked for the role. Since the army of the East India Company had no cavalry of any kind at that point of time, two troops of dragoonDragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
s and one troop of hussar
Hussar
Hussar refers to a number of types of light cavalry which originated in Hungary in the 14th century, tracing its roots from Serbian medieval cavalry tradition, brought to Hungary in the course of the Serb migrations, which began in the late 14th century....
s were raised - the latter becoming the personal bodyguard of the Governor. These were however disbanded in the reorganisation of the army by Robert Clive after his return to India in 1765. By 1772, the Company did not have a single cavalryman in service.
The regiment's history dates back to 30 September 1773. It was created during the Company rule in India
Company rule in India
Company rule in India refers to the rule or dominion of the British East India Company on the Indian subcontinent...
as a personal bodyguard for the Governor General of India and was then known as the Troop of Moghuls. It was later renamed to the Viceroy's Bodyguard in 1858 when the Indian Empire was officially established. It changed its name again to the Governor General's Bodyguard
Governor General's Bodyguard
The Governor General's Bodyguard was a cavalry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment was, in effect, the Indian equivalent of the Household Cavalry of the British Army.-History:...
when India became a Commonwealth Dominion in 1947. It took on its modern name when India became a republic in 1950.
Battle honours
The President's Bodyguard has the following battle honourBattle honour
A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags , uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible....
s:
- Java
- Ava
- Maharajpoor
- Moodkee
- Ferozeshah
- Aliwal
- Sobraon
all of which, except for "Java", are considered to be repugnant
Repugnant battle honours of the Indian Army
Some battle honours earned by Indian Army units, which are descended from erstwhile units of the British East India Company, and later the British Raj, have been declared as repugnant by the Government of India. Indian Army units do not inscribe these battle honours on their colours and do not...
and cannot be carried on regimental colours.
Present status
In 2003, the President's Bodyguard had an establishment of 7 officers, 15 NCOs, and 140 enlisted men, for a total strength of 180 men. Throughout its history, the Bodyguard has varied in size from 50 men when first raised, to 1,929 men in 1845. However, it was usually around squadron size, or about 130 men.The current commanding officer is Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
TS Mundi. By tradition, the CO has always been of Brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
or Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
rank. He is assisted by Majors
Majors
Majors is a Danish hip-hop group consisting of MCs Nat Ill, J-Spliff, Negash Ali and DJs DJ Static and former DMC World DJ Championship winner, DJ Noize. The five members first came together in the City Hall studio in Århus in 2007 to start recording...
, Captains, Risaldars and Daffadars.Soldiers hold the ranks of Sowar
Sowar
Sowar , meaning 'The one who rides' in Persian, was originally a rank during the Mughal period. Later during the British Raj it was the name in Anglo-Indian usage for a horse-soldier belonging to the cavalry troops of the native armies of British India and the feudal states...
or Naik
Naik
Naik is an administrative title and surname derived from the Sanskrit word "vash" means to control. Naik is a surname attributed to the Anavil Brahmin caste.Naik may refer to:...
. Recruitment to the Regiment in India now is in equal share, to Sikhs, Jats and Rajputs, with officers and administrative staff from all over India.