12 girls to tie rakhi to 250 brothers

Jaisalmer, Aug. 4: Infamous for its high rate of female foeticide, Rajasthan’s Rajput-dominated Devara village will get to celebrate Raksha Bandhan with full fervour on Wednesday with the 12 girls in the village taking on themselves to tie the thread on the hands of 250 lonely brothers.
With just 12 girls in the village, where female foeticide was rampant for over a century, many youth had to spend the festival alone.
But not this time with the 12 girls, inspired by a television serial condemning foeticide in Rajasthan, deciding to tie rakhi on the hands of 250 boys regardless of caste.
“No brother should go without rakhi on Wednesday whether he is real or distant relative”, Puja Kanwar, a young girl said.
Moolsingh Bhati said though he has a sister many of his friends used to feel lonely on the festival.
“Now with the collective decision of the girls, the brothers are happy that they would get to celebrate the festival,” he said.