NEW DELHI: The elaborate “Change of Guard” ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan can now be witnessed on Sundays too. The 30-minute ceremony, in which a group of presidential guards are changed, is a military tradition that currently takes place on the forecourt lawns of the Presidential residence every Saturday.
The president’s office issued a statement on Thursday which said, “The public display of the ceremonial change of guard at Rashtrapati Bhavan will now also take place on Sundays with effect from October 8, 2017.”
While the ceremony will continue to be held at its scheduled time in the morning on Saturdays, it will take place on Sundays in the evening at 16:30 hrs, it said. The statement further said, “In case Saturday or Sunday is a Gazetted holiday and Rashtrapati Bhavan is closed for visitors, the change of guard ceremony will not be carried out on those days.”
The president’s bodyguard (PBG), raised in 1773, is the senior most regiment of the Indian Army. It is a regiment carrying out ceremonial duties for the president. The PBG personnel are excellent horsemen, capable tank men and paratroopers. The “Change of Guard” ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan was first opened to the public in 2007.