KARACHI, PAKISTAN, August 21, 2007: Hindu women in Pakistan are preparing for the festival of Raksha Bandhan, shopping for colorful rakhis, sweets and gifts. On Raksha Bandhan, which falls on the full moon day in the Hindu month of Shravan, sisters tie decorative threads on their brother’s wrist as a mark of respect and love. The festival falls on August 28 this year. “Rakhi is more of a cultural festival than a religious one and is celebrated in Pakistan and different parts of the world with fervor and enthusiasm,” said D. M. Maharaj, a member of the Sindh Minority Alliance.
“Most Hindus of Karachi prefer to celebrate this colorful day privately in their homes. In some places it is also celebrated with a public gathering,” said Mangla Sharma, president of the Pakistan-Hindu Welfare Association. She added that a large number of young Hindu girls and boys gather during rakhi in the Hanuman temple located at the Native Jetty Bridge. “Girls who don’t have a brother search for a boy and give him a rakhi, making him a dharm-bhai (a brother with the same belief),” she said.