Speaking on the occasion, the President said that it gave him great pleasure to present the PBG a Silver Trumpet with his Trumpet Banner. As the President’s personal troops, the President’s Bodyguards have lived up to the highest standards of professional excellence and distinguished service to our country. The men of the PBG comprise the only regiment in the Indian Army fully trained as horsemen, paratroopers, tank-men, and in ceremonial duties. This gives them a special position in our Armed Forces.
The President said that it is a matter of pride that warriors of the President’s Bodyguard have served with distinction during our country’s major wars, as well as with the Indian Peace-Keeping Force in Sri Lanka and on the icy heights of the Siachen Glacier. They have also been deployed overseas as part of United Nations Peace-Keeping Missions.
The President’s Bodyguard is the oldest regiment in the Indian Army, having been raised as the Governor-General’s Bodyguard (later the Viceroy’s Bodyguard) in 1773. As the President of India’s own Guard, it has the unique distinction of being the only military unit of the Indian Army that is privileged to carry the President’s Silver Trumpet and Trumpet Banner. This distinction was conferred on the President’s Bodyguard in 1923 by the then Viceroy, Lord Reading, on the occasion of the Bodyguard completing 150 years of service. Each succeeding Viceroy, thereafter, presented the Silver Trumpet and Trumpet Banner to the Bodyguard.
On January 27, 1950, the regiment was renamed the President’s Bodyguard. Every President has continued the practice of honouring the regiment. Rather than a coat of arms, as was the practice in the colonial era, the monogram of the President appears on the Banner. Dr Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, presented his Silver Trumpet and Trumpet Banner to the President’s Bodyguard on May 14, 1957.
