New timings for Change of Guard ceremony
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The Ceremonial Change of Guard ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi will have new summer timings.
The ceremony will now be conducted from 0800 hours to 0840 hours till the end of August. During the ‘Ceremonial Changing of the Guard’, troppers of the President’s Body Guard and infantry soldiers of the Army Guards change guard with clock-work precision. This ceremony takes place at North and South Block Square and inside Gate 1 at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The exercise involves inspection of the New Guard, nomination of sentries, a formal march to take post and exchange of compliments by the Guards, accompanied by the playing of a band. This spectacle is held every Saturday and is open to the public.
The ‘Change of Guard’ is a military ritual steeped in tradition. The President’s Body Guard, as is known today was raised in 1773 at Benares by the then Governor General, Warren Hastings. It was first christened as ‘The Guard of Moguls’ in 1773 and came to be known as “The President’s Body Guard” when India became a Republic on 26 January, 1950.