When Draupadi tore a strip from her sari to bind Krishna’s bleeding wrist, she was not performing a ritual, she was making a promise. And when Krishna, in turn, protected her in the Kaurava court, he was not repaying a debt, he was honouring a bond. This ancient moment, which we now see as the spiritual origin of Raksha Bandhan, was never about ornament or obligation. It was about trust, reciprocity, and the understanding that true protection flows both ways.
In today’s Bharat, we must reclaim the reciprocal spirit of rakhi and the protection it symbolises. True protection can never be about sheltering women within four walls while the world moves on without them. It is about giving them the confidence and the freedom to step out, to lead, and to claim their rightful place in every sphere of life. And reciprocity demands that women, too, stand ready to protect the values, the families, and the communities that sustain our civilisation. In the India of 2025, raksha and empowerment are not separate ideals; they are two halves of the same promise.
This year, I celebrated Raksha Bandhan with the family I have found among the BJP karyakartas of Delhi. They are my brothers and sisters in service, connected not by blood but by a shared mission to serve our people. As I tied rakhis on their wrists, I felt our bond reflected the spirit of Draupadi and Krishna—not defined by kinship, but by the unwavering readiness to stand by each other in every circumstance.
The BJP karyakartas in my constituency are my raksha kavach (protective shield) in every sense. They walk beside me through narrow lanes in the summer heat, shoulder the burden of logistics during public programmes, keep a watchful eye at events, and respond without hesitation to calls for help at any hour. Their commitment is not symbolic; it is woven into the rhythm of everyday service. And just as they safeguard the dignity of our work, I feel an equal responsibility to safeguard their dreams, to stand beside their efforts, and to ensure their voices are heard and valued.
Our prime minister, Narendra Modi, has often spoken of Nari Shakti as the driving force that will shape a Viksit Bharat by 2047. His vision calls on us to see Raksha Bandhan as a pledge of shared responsibility, not a one-way promise from brothers to sisters. Brothers must stand for their sisters, and sisters too must recognise their own power and responsibility in this bond. In today’s India, women are not only recipients of care but also providers of it, offering strength to their families both financially and emotionally. Whether in Parliament, in boardrooms, or in grassroots initiatives, women have the ability and the duty to work alongside men in steering this country forward. Raksha Bandhan, at its heart, celebrates this shared journey where brothers and sisters walk together, each protecting, supporting, and empowering the other.
Raksha Bandhan began as a simple act of compassion between two friends, Draupadi and Krishna. Centuries later, in modern Bharat, it calls on every citizen to be both protector and partner, to give strength and to draw strength, to stand shoulder to shoulder in building a nation worthy of its people. A rakhi may be a slender thread, yet within its knot lies the power to bind a billion hearts and carry forward a civilisation’s promise. As long as we remember the spirit of Draupadi and Krishna, we will remember that our greatest security lies in empowerment, and our greatest empowerment lies in the unshakeable security of standing together.
Bansuri Swaraj is the Lok Sabha member from New Delhi.