JAISALMER: While the country celebrates Raksha Bandhan on Shravani Purnima with joy and a pledge to protect one another, there is a Hindu community that does not celebrate the festival.The Paliwal Brahmin community, spread across the country, observes Raksha Bandhan as a day of mourning, remembering the sacrifice, valour and suffering of their ancestors.According to the community’s tradition, around 735 years ago, on the full moon day of the month of Shrawan, thousands of Paliwal Brahmin men, women and children were killed in an attack by Mughal rulers.Since then, the community has observed the day by performing tarpan for their ancestors and organising religious programmes.Since the tragic events of Vikram Samvat 1347-48, Paliwal sisters are traditionally believed to have stopped tying rakhi on their brothers’ wrists on Raksha Bandhan.Jaisalmer Paliwal community senior member and historian Dr Rishidutt Paliwal said that Paliwal Brahmins were earlier known as Gaur Brahmins. They came to be known as Paliwal Brahmins after settling in the Pali region. He said the community continues to refrain from celebrating Raksha Bandhan and instead remembers its ancestors and performs tarpan.According to accounts passed down through generations, Paliwal Brahmins were prosperous, affluent and known for their hard work. Around 735 years ago, in 1291-92, Delhi ruler Firoz Shah II allegedly attacked the Pali region with his army with the intention of looting the prosperous Paliwals.A large number of Brahmins were killed in the attack.Many people had gathered at Lakhoriyan pond to perform tarpan when the attack took place. According to the community account, several people were killed and their bodies were thrown into the pond.Cows were also allegedly killed and their bodies dumped there.Following the massacre, the Paliwal community abandoned Pali and migrated to different parts of the country. They resolved that the day would forever remain associated with grief rather than celebration.He said that around 50 kg of sacred janeu and nearly 3,340 kg of women’s bangles were reportedly found after the massacre, reflecting the scale of the tragedy.Historian Laxmi Narayan Khatri also confirmed the community’s tradition, saying the massacre left Paliwal Brahmins with a deep sense that they had failed to protect their families. Consequently, Raksha Bandhan came to symbolise disappointment and sorrow for them.He said the Paliwals later migrated to Jaisalmer and established 84 villages, which, according to community accounts, once had a population of more than four lakh. Others migrated to Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat.The abandoned villages of Kuldhara, Khabha and others around Jaisalmer still stand as silent reminders of the community’s history and suffering. For Paliwal Brahmins, therefore, Raksha Bandhan remains not a festival of celebration, but a solemn day to remember their ancestors.
