Raksha Bandhan 2025: 12 Years Without A Rakhi... Sister Across The Border, Brothers Wait In Barmer

Last Updated:August 09, 2025, 10:07 IST

In Rajasthan’s Barmer, brothers have been waiting for 12 years to celebrate Raksha Bandhan with their sister, as political tensions keep the siblings apart each Raksha Bandhan

Raksha Bandhan 2025 is being celebrated today on Saturday, August 9.

Raksha Bandhan, one of the most cherished Hindu festivals, celebrates the sacred bond between brothers and sisters. As Raksha Bandhan is being celebrated today, Saturday, August 9, across the nation, Ran Singh from Barmer, Rajasthan, finds the day incomplete, as he has for the past 12 years.

His sister, Lahari Kanwar, lives in Umarkot, Pakistan, and the border between the two countries stands like a wall between their Rakhi threads. Lahari was married in Umarkot, and since then, the siblings have been separated by distance, politics, and paperwork.

For over a decade, neither Lahari has been able to come to Barmer nor Ran Singh to visit Pakistan. Every year, on the festival day, Ran Singh and his two brothers in Barmer wait with hope to have their wrists adorned with their sister’s Rakhi, but their wishes are halted at the border.

The emotional void is felt deeply in their family of four brothers and one sister. While Hakam Singh, Gokal Singh, and Ran Singh live in Barmer, their fourth brother, Jethu Singh, remains in Pakistan.

Ran Singh originally belonged to Umarkot but moved to India in 2014 with his father, Sawai Singh, and the family, settling in Indira Nagar, Barmer. The last time he met Lahari was before his move, and since then, the separation has only grown. On Raksha Bandhan, seeing his empty wrist, Ran Singh often struggles to hold back his tears.

The closest they came to reuniting was when Lahari received a visa once, but it was cancelled following the Pahalgam attack. Since then, the political situation and border restrictions have continued to keep them apart.

Now, even though 16 members of Ran Singh’s family live together in Barmer, the Raksha Bandhan celebration still feels incomplete without Lahari.

Ran Singh says that for 12 long years, his wrist has been left untied. He hopes that if the Thar Express resumes, the siblings will once again be able to bridge the border and strengthen the bond that no distance can break.

Location :

Barmer, India, India

First Published:

August 09, 2025, 10:07 IST

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