Raksha Bandhan is often associated with the image of a sister tying a sacred thread around her brother’s wrist. Yet, historical processes associated with this popular cultural practice have produced a wide range of social relationships and cultural meanings. Ideas of rakhi have been closely associated with protection, trust, kinship, honour, loyalty, and social bonds. Its significance has been linked with regional and historical contexts, meaning that its cultural origins are difficult to determine. This paper studies shifting cultural meanings of Raksha Bandhan by exploring historical processes such as mythology, folklore, regional practices, gender, and politics. Particular attention is paid to how the exchange of rakhi in Rajasthan could produce relationships beyond biological kinship that were linked to political protection. This paper aims to explore the role of women and how the ritual practices associated with Raksha Bandhan could offer opportunities for social and political agency. The festival’s cultural significance has changed in the modern era due to nationalism, public holidays, political practices, cinema, welfare, and popular culture. This paper argues that Raksha Bandhan should be studied in the context of changing cultural traditions where notions of protection, identity, authority, and social relationships were expressed.