Raksha Bandhan 2022: How a woman from Pakistan became PM Modi’s ‘rakhi sister’

Every year on Raksha Bandhan, Qamar Mohsin Shaikh sends a rakhi to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It’s a tradition she has followed religiously for nearly three decades – and this year, too, Shaikh sent a handmade rakhi to the man she considers her brother, along with good wishes for the 2024 elections.

But how did a woman from Pakistan become a ‘rakhi sister’ to the prime minister of India?

Qamar Mohsin Shaikh, who is from Pakistan but settled in India after her marriage, met Narendra Modi nearly 27 years ago. The story dates back to the time when PM Modi was a ‘karyakarta’ with the RSS.

According to DNA, at that time, Shaikh and her husband were the guests of senior BJP leader and MP, Dileep Sanghani. Being a member of parliament, Sanghani had a house in Delhi. Modi, then an RSS karyakarta, visited Delhi and stayed with Sanghani at his residence. That is when he met Shaikh – and his greeting of “Kaisi ho behen (How are you sister)” led to a bond that has survived for 27 years.
Recalling their first meeting, Shaikh said: “One evening after his work Modi returned home when we were introduced to each other. Modi in a polite tone inquired, ‘How are you sister?’”

“This had touched me a lot, within a few days Raksha Bandhan was approaching. I knew that on this auspicious day a sister ties a rakhi to her brother, so I also bought a rakhi and tied it to the Prime Minister,” said Shaikh. “Since then this brother and sister bond has grown stronger with every passing year.”