The rakhi emerged as a symbol of protest in Calcutta on Monday.

Across the city, doctors, healthcare professionals, students and others tied rakhis as a mark of protest.

At the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where a young doctor was raped and murdered on August 9, protesting doctors tied rakhis on their colleagues, patients and relatives. The doctors also tied rakhis on the wrists of policemen stationed at the hospital.

In Jadavpur, doctors, nurses, paramedics and technicians of the KPC Medical College and Hospital tied rakhis on passersby as they marched from the main gate of the hospital till the Lords crossing.

In Bengal, Rakshabandhan traces its roots to the protest against the partition of Bengal in 1905. In the backdrop of a concerted bid to polarise people, Rabindranath Tagore had distributed rakhis among Muslims and Hindus to celebrate communal harmony and kinship.

One hundred and nineteen years later, Rakshabandhan symbolised a stand against violation of women and a pledge for their safety.

Shagufta Yasmin, a postgraduate trainee doctor at RG Kar, said that rakhis symbolise hope and harmony as well as a pledge of protection for women.

“We are tying rakhis on the wrists of cops because we expect protection from them and we hope that they can live up to our expectations,” Yasmin said on Monday.

Souvanik Halder, a doctor at KPC, said that they had organised a rally on Monday and tied rakhis on the wrists of passersby to thank everyone for stepping out and protesting against the rape and murder of the young doctor at RG Kar and demand justice.

“The rakhi symbolises protection. We tied rakhis on the wrists of everyone and pledged protection for women. We also pledged to ensure their safety across the city,” said Halder.

In Dhakuria, doctors and healthcare professionals from the Manipal Hospitals formed a human chain and walked from Dhakuria Bridge to the Golpark crossing and back.

On the way, they tied rakhis on the wrists of app cab drivers, auto drivers and policemen to thank them for being supportive of their cause.

Another rally that started from Subodh Mullick Square and wound its way to College Street had rallyists tying rakhis on the wrists of pedestrians, policemen and riders of app-based delivery aggregators.

“We chose to do this as the word Rakshabandhan has the word ‘raksha’, meaning protection, in it. We are here as we are pained. Something like this has happened in a place like Calcutta. We want swift justice for the victim and a stop to police high-handedness,” said Pushpak Ghosh a software engineer, who attended the rally.