President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday honoured the President’s Bodyguard (PBG) with the diamond jubilee silver trumpet and trumpet banner at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, marking 75 years of its designation as the PBG in 1950.
Speaking at the ceremony, President Murmu said the nation takes pride in the President’s Bodyguard. She congratulated the regiment for its professional excellence and strict adherence to the finest military traditions. She reminded the bodyguards that this honour comes with a significant responsibility.
Viraat: Symbol of Bond Between Horse and Guard
‘Viraat,’ the Commandant’s Charger, retired in 2022, also attended the ceremony. The PBG adopted the horse after retirement, symbolising the deep bond between the regiment and its steeds. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had patted Viraat during the Republic Day Parade on January 26, 2022.
The President’s Bodyguard is the oldest regiment in the Indian Army. Raised in 1773 in Banaras (Varanasi) by then Governor-General Warren Hastings, it began with 50 cavalry troopers, later reinforced by 50 more horsemen. The Governor-General’s Bodyguard, later called the Viceroy’s Bodyguard, became the President’s Bodyguard on January 27, 1950.
India’s first President, Dr Rajendra Prasad, presented his silver trumpet and trumpet banner to the PBG on May 14, 1957. Today, it remains the only regiment permitted to hold two ‘Standards’: the President’s Standard of Body Guard and the Regimental Standard of the PBG.
The PBG continues to be a select unit of hand-picked soldiers chosen through a rigorous process based on special physical attributes. Mounted on war horses and dressed in ceremonial attire, the regiment blends the traditional warrior ethos of horsed cavalry with the modern professionalism of the Indian Army.
Since independence, the PBG has served one Governor-General and 15 Presidents of India. It continues to remain an inseparable part of Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Indian Army, and the lives of India’s Heads of State.
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