Mudhol hounds, the famous breed of Indian dogs from the town of Mudhol in Bagalkot district in north Karnataka, will soon be part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security entourage, managed by the Special Protection Group (SPG).
Two Mudhol pups aged were handed over to the SPG in April this year and have since then been trained by specialists of the SPG in activities such as bomb detection, drug detection, and so on.
The breed of sleek dogs were used in hunting in the past and live up to an age of 10 to 15 years. With its long slender body and graceful features, the dog has emerged as the mascot of the town in which it is most commonly found. Mudhol was a minor (a nine-gun salute) princely state in British India. Ruled by the Ghorpade Marathas, the state was located in the southern part of the Bombay Presidency. According to commonly held historical knowledge in the region, it was the penultimate ruler of Mudhol, Shrimant Rajesaheb Malojirao Ghorpade of Mudhol (d. 1939), who is credited with bringing into prominence the Mudhol hound.
The prince saw that these dogs, which bore great resemblance to hounds, were used as hunting dogs by the shepherding communities in his kingdom. Recognising the distinctness of the dogs, he selectively bred the best specimens and even presented a pair of these hounds to King George V when he visited England who christened them ‘Mudhol hounds’.
