In the U.K., a member of the royalty is requested to be the Colonel-in-Chief of a selected regiment whilst a senior officer of the regiment becomes its Colonel. India, having become a Republic, General Cariappa approached the President, Dr Rajendra Prasad, to be the Colonel-in-Chief of this senior most Regiment. Dr Rajendra Prasad graciously acceded to this request in his capacity as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. He took over his appointment with effect from 26 January 1950. Thereafter, the succeeding Presidents became the Colonels-in-Chief during their tenures.

The question of appointment of the first Colonel for the Guards Brigade came up for examination at Army Headquarters in October 1951. It was then decided, with the approval of the Government, that as the Guards Brigade was being treated as corps de elite, and as the President was associated with the Brigade as its Colonel-in-Chief, it would be in the fitness of things if the Chief of the Army Staff (earlier Commander-in-Chief) was appointed ex-officio Colonel of the Brigade. He was to hold the appointment for the duration of his tenure as Army Chief. As a result, General Cariappa became the first Colonel of the Brigade from 07 November 1951 till 14 January 1953, the date of his retirement. Thereafter, this appointment was held by successive Army Chiefs till the tenure of Gen PN Thapar from 31 July 1961 to 19 Jul 1963.

General JN Chaudhuri realised that he would not be doing full justice to the appointment because of his inability to devote the attention that was due to the Guards Brigade in day to day activities which were then increasing with the growing strength of the Brigade. It would, therefore, be to the advantage of the Brigade to have a regular officer from its own panel as a Colonel of the Regiment. The Commandant of the Guards Training Centre was consulted. He, in consultation with the battalion commanders, agreed to this suggestion and recommended the name of Brig Rawlley for this appointment. He also recommended that the COAS be appointed as ex-officio Honorary Colonel of the Brigade, which would enable him to keep the association with them.

It was as a result of this that Brig NC Rawlley was appointed the Colonel of the Brigade of The Guards with effect from 01 January 1964, and Gen JN Chaudhuri relinquished the appointment and became the ex-officio Honorary Colonel.The Brigade now has the President as the Colonel-in-Chief, the COAS as the Honorary Colonel, and a senior Guards officer as the Colonel.

Present Colonel of the Brigade of the Guards

Expansion of The Regt

The expansion of the Regiment commenced in 1960 when 5 GUARDS was raised at Kota. Since then the strength of the battalions has increased to nineteen. The Regiment was honoured by getting the first ATGM Battalion. Today it is a versatile Regiment having a mix of Mechanised Inf units, Recce and Support Battalions and TA Battalions.

Regimental Centre

The Brigade of the Guards Regimental Centre started off as a Training Company raised at the Rajputana Rifles Training Centre at Delhi Cantonment on 06 Jun 1950, later upgraded to the Guards Training Wing at the same location. As further expansion was on the cards, the need for a separate Regimental Centre was soon felt. The Centre became operative at Kota, Rajasthan on 11 Jun 1956, where it remained till 1976 when, as per the new policy of re-locating Regimental Centers to the hinterland, it moved to Kamptee (near Nagpur) in Maharashtra in October 1976.

Role

General Cariappa laid down the following role for this elite Brigade :-

• To excel in matters of drill, discipline, turn out and smartness in peace.

• To take its proper place in war and acquit itself in an exemplary manner in action and in discipline.

War Cry

The war cry adopted by the Guards Brigade is “Garud ka hun bol pyare”. Translated literally, it means, “I belong to the Garuda, say so, dear friend”. When this war cry rents the air, it shatters the enemy’s morale.

Motto

About this time, the BRIGADE adopted the motto “Pahla Hamesha Pahla”. This was the motto of the Ist Grenadiers given to it by one of its Commanding Officers, Lt Col Sobha Chand, MC.

Regimental History

The Invincible Garuda by Col RD Palsokar, MC (Retd), The Guards (Pub: Guards Regimental Centre, Kamptee, 2004).

Conclusion

Brigade of The Guards which was formed in 1949 is modelled on the British Regiments of Guards, and has also picked up some traditions of the foot regiments of Napoleon’s Imperial Guard. This Brigade also underwent some changes of dress in the last four decades. The uniforms in vogue at present have been designed bearing in mind the need for impressive colours and economy. The Brigade of The Guards in India has built up an enviable reputation which will be evident from the history of this Brigade. Be it in the field of battle, sports, ceremony, adventure activities, or shooting skills, the Guards, the senior most among infantry regiments and now a part of mechanised forces, carry the day and will continue to do so.