The Army has told the Supreme Court that the reason why it picks President’s Bodyguards from fixed regiments of Hindu Rajputs, Jats and Jat Sikhs is due to their common height, built and appearance, and has nothing to do with their caste or religion.
The statement has come in response to a PIl, which alleged that Army was discriminating against other regiments by recruiting soldiers into President’s Bodyguards (PBG) from just three units.
Stating on affidavit, the Army said that since PBG requires only ceremonial duties at Rashtrapati Bhawan, the “functional requirement” demands common height, built and appearance.
“PBG is a small unit of approximately 150 troops which is placed under the President’s Secretariat. Unlike what its name suggests, it is purely a ceremonial unit tasked to perform ceremonies as per the protocol at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. The ceremonial duties demand common height, built, appearance and dress for reason of pomp and projection which are important military attributes while performing such duties,” it said.
Strangely, the Army patted its own back to cite PBG as a classic example to showcase selection within the armed force based on functional requirement. “The example of PBG being open to only three classes cited by the petitioner once again proves the point that Force structuring/composition is purely based on functional requirement,” it said.
The petitioner IS Yadav, a doctor by profession based in Rewari, Haryana had found serious problem with such discretionary selection and sought ban on any recruitment within Army based on caste region or religion. His petition questioned the basis for such selection and wondered if “no other Indian having any physical, educational and mental capability is eligible for recruitment in President’s Bodyguard because he does not belong to Rajput, Jat or Sikh community”. Viewing the charge as serious, the apex court had asked the Army to respond to the petition.
PBG was raised in 1773 at Benares by the then Governor, Warren Hastings. Since being first christened as ‘The Guard of Moguls’ in 1773, the Regiment had various titles such as ‘The Governor General’s Bodyguard (GGBG)’ in 1784, ‘The Viceroy’s Bodyguard’ in 1858, the ‘44th Divisional Reconnaissance Squadron GGBG’ in 1944, and back to ‘The Governor General’s Bodyguard’ in 1947. When India became a Republic, the Regiment was christened “The President’s Bodyguard”.