The PBG fought in all the main battles of the First Sikh War and earned four Battle Honours.ĭuring the 1857 Great Mutiny, Lord Canning asked the Indian officers and other ranks to serve without arms as a precautionary measure, which they did in good faith. The Bodyguard received their third Battle Honour 'Maharajpore' for the battle of Maharajpore in 1843, when the British intervened in the battle for the succession that erupted in Gwalior after the death of Maharaja Scindia. In 1824, a detachment volunteered to sail over the kaala paani ("black water", or open ocean, which Hindu soldiers once refrained from crossing, for fear of losing their caste) to take part in the First Anglo-Burmese War and earned their second Battle Honour "Ava". At present the PBG has the unique distinction of being the only surviving unit to carry this honour. They earned their first Battle Honour 'Java' in 1811, during the conquest of the island. These campaigns did not bring any Battle Honours to the GGBG. The Bodyguard detachment never saw action in Egypt, as Alexandria had capitulated by the time that they arrived there. All their horses died and they had to place the guns on camels. It marched for 120 miles in the desert in the height of summer. In 1801, a detachment consisting of one Native Officer and 26 other ranks went to Egypt to provide riders for an experimental unit of horse artillery. During this campaign, it successfully thwarted an assassination attempt on the life of Governor General Lord Cornwallis. The Bodyguard was also present during the 3rd Mysore War (1790–92) against Tipu Sultan. George where the Rohillas were defeated completely. Its next campaign was against Rohillas in April 1774 in the battle of St. The PBG first saw action in 1773–74, when it was deployed against Sanyasis – a band that ravaged the countryside in the guise of mendicants. In the pre-Independence era, the average height of a member of the President's Bodyguards was 1.90 metres (6 feet 3 inches). The basic height requirement for enlistment is 1.83 metres (6 feet 0 in). After that, the proportions of recruits was fixed at 50 per cent Sikhs (Malwa and Majha) and 50 percent Muslims (Hindustani & Punjabi).Ĭurrently Jats, Rajputs and Jat Sikhs taken in equal numbers 33.1 percent, primarily from the states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. The recruitment of Brahmins ceased in 1895. The GGBG was no exception and Sikhs were allowed to enlist for the first time in Aug 1883 and Punjabi Muslims in October 1887. During this period, South Indian castes comprised the bulk of this unit.Īfter the Great Mutiny of 1857, the center of recruitment of the Indian Army was shifted from Awadh and southern India to northern India. In 1800, the recruitment pool was changed from the Bengal Presidency to the Madras Presidency and the GGBG was reconstituted with troopers from the Madras cavalry for the next 60 years. This nucleus of the Bodyguard was later augmented by another 50 horsemen, provided by Maharaja Chait Singh of Benares, thus bringing the overall strength of the regiment up to 100 horses and men by the end of that year.īy 1800, Hindus (Brahmins and Rajputs) were allowed to join the GGBG along with Muslims, but the area of the recruitment remained the same: Awadh & Bihar. Recruitment started when the unit was raised in 1773 by Governor Warren Hastings, with a strength of 50 handpicked troopers. The ethnic composition of the unit varied equally. As per the book Historical Records of the Governor General’s Body Guards published in 1910, maximum strength of the unit was 529 all ranks on Februjust before the first Sikh War. In addition to 529 all ranks, orders were also issued to attach two Rissalahs of Irregular Cavalry, taking the strength of the unit to 730 all ranks. President of India’s website claims a number of 1929 just before the First Sikh war but some historians believe the number to be 469. Minimum strength of the unit was 50 when it was raised in 1773 but the precise maximum strength of the unit is not known. In Pakistan the title remained GGBG till 1956.
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