Army Chief General Bipin Rawat presented the ceremonial 'President's Colours' to 29th and 30th battalions of the Punjab regiment on Wednesday.
The awards were given during Colour Presentation Parade held at the Punjab Regimental Centre, Ramgarh.
The Colours represent a source of pride for the military units. As time passed, Regiments were awarded battle honours, which they emblazoned on their Colours, Standards and Guidons.
These, therefore, became a link to the Regiment's past and a memorial to the martyrs and thus took on a more mystical significance than as mere identifying markers on the battlefield. They became the heart of the regiment in which all of its history was woven.
Such became the significance in this context that for a regiment to lose its colours was (and still is) a major disgrace with the capture of an enemy's colours (or equivalent) considered a great honour. This is why, whenever the colours are paraded, they are always escorted by armed guards and paid the highest compliments by all soldiers and officers, second only to the sovereign himself/herself.