President’s Bodyguard is the Indian Army’s oldest regiment, and invites members from only 3 castes — Jats, Rajputs & Jat Sikhs — to apply for recruitment.
New Delhi: The Indian Army is set to tell the Delhi High Court that the present recruitment policy for the President’s Bodyguard is legitimate after the court sought responses of the Centre and the Army chief on a petition alleging that candidates from only three castes were considered for recruitment to the prestigious regiment.
The petition was filed in November last year. The responses from the central government and the Army chief were sought during the latest hearing on 21 December, 2018.
The President’s Bodyguard is a cavalry regiment of the Indian Army that invites members from only three castes — Jats, Rajputs and Jat Sikhs — to apply for recruitment.
“The Army will establish that the present system of recruitment, based on historical legacies and constitutional propriety, is legitimate,” a top Army source told ThePrint.
He added that the policy has been examined by four committees since 1947 and everything was found in order.
Army sources also said that the Supreme Court has already dismissed a PIL (in January) on the same issue.
Recruitment into the PBG, as it is known today, is much coveted and in many cases, hereditary. However, like several instances in the past, the recruitment policy has been challenged again this year.
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The case
The latest petition filed by Haryana resident Gaurav Yadav has sought that the recruitment of the President’s Bodyguard held on 4 September, 2017, be set aside as only the three castes were invited to apply.
The petitioner said he belonged to the Ahir/Yadav caste and fulfilled all the eligibility criteria of recruitment except his caste, and sought that he be recruited for the post.
A bench of Justices S. Muralidhar and Sanjeev Narula issued notices to the Ministry of Defence, Chief of the Army Staff, Commandant of the President’s Bodyguard and Director of Army Recruitment, seeking replies within four weeks.
The matter has been listed for hearing on 8 May, 2019.
History of President’s Bodyguard
The PBG is the oldest regiment of the Indian Army and completed 245 years of service this year, say official records.
It is the senior-most unit of the 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 was raised in 1773 at Benares (now Varanasi) by then Governor Warren Hastings, with a strength of 50 handpicked troopers. This nucleus of the Bodyguard was later augmented by another 50 horsemen, provided by Raja Cheyt Singh of Benares, thus bringing the overall strength of the regiment up to 100 horses and men by the end of that year, say records.
The establishment of the regiment varied through the years, being augmented in times of war and it attained its maximum strength of 1,929 all ranks, as per the Army List of 1845, just prior to the First Sikh War.
The PBG continued to be a select Cavalry Unit, primarily for the personal and battlefield security of the Governor and later Governor General, who often had to personally lead his forces into battle.
The Raising Charter clearly spelt out the role of the PBG, namely — “To act as Bodyguard to the Governor in peace and to accompany him as Commander-in-Chief in battle”.
This unique band of select troops, in over two centuries of service, has seen action in various roles — as mounted and dismounted cavalry; Artillery, with ‘Galloper Guns’ in the Egyptian Expedition of 1801-1802; Marines in 1809, protecting naval transports in the Bay of Bengal; and more recently as mechanised and airborne troops.
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Historical composition
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”, say records.
Later, during a review of the Madras Presidency parade, Marquess Wellesley (then the Earl of Mornington) was so impressed by the bearing, discipline and sword drill of the Madras Cavalry, that on return to Fort William, he ordered the troops of the Madras Cavalry to form the greater part of the corps.
Records do not show for how long recruitment to the Bodyguard from Madras continued. However, 70 years later, the composition of the corps had reverted to Brahmins, Rajputs and UP Mussalmans.
Recruitment from the Punjab commenced with Sikh troopers in 1883 and Punjabi Mussalmans in 1887, the latter eventually replacing the Brahmins and the Rajput elements. Thus, by 1947, the regiment comprised half Jat Sikh and half Punjabi Mussalman troopers.
With the birth of India and Pakistan as two sovereign independent states, 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 with officers and administrative staff from all over India, add records.
A yeoman service
Post-Independence, in keeping with its high traditions, the PBG, which many regard as a yeoman service, maintained law and order in the aftermath of Partition in and around the national capital.
In 1962, its armoured cars were deployed for the defence of Chushul at heights of over 10,000 feet.
The regiment saw action in 1965, when it participated in “Operation Ablaze” in the Western Theatre.
In 1988 and 1989, detachments of the regiment, served overseas with the Indian Peacekeeping Force in Sri Lanka. Troopers from the PBG have served with the Indian contingents forming part of the United Nations Forces in Somalia, Angola, Sierra Leone and Sudan. The regiment has also sent 20 detachments to the world’s highest battlefield, the Siachen Glacier.
President’s Bodyguard today
As of today, PBG is a small body of handpicked men, comprising four officers, 14 Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) and 161 troopers backed by administrative support personnel.
This establishment has not changed much since the 19th century. Its men are trained for operational duties, both, as tankmen and airborne troops in addition to their ceremonial role.
The physical standards for the PBG are very specific with six feet being the minimum height for a trooper. Men of the PBG are expert horsemen, adept at ceremonial punctilio, trained combat paratroopers, armoured vehicle crewmen and tradesmen. Honed in diverse combat skills, the PBG personnel have proven their worth in battle as well as in mounted tourneys and equestrian skills.
This report has been updated to correct the date of the latest hearing in the case, which was 21 December, 2018, not 26 December, 2018. The error is regretted.