Revision as of 03:00, 8 October 2017

Age limit reduced to 2 years

India’s Haj quota (2013-15) and its distribution among states in 2015; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, May 2, 2016

Haj statistics 2015:
i) states with the highest number of applicants and states with fewer applications than the quota.
ii) Number of Indian pilgrims, statewise;
iii) Indian lives lost during the Haj.
The Times of India

The Times of India, Jan 17 2016

Priyangi Agarwal

Haj ticket grant age limit cut to 2 years 

The Central Haj Committee has now reduced the age for child category for Haj from five to two years and hence, kids aged two and above will be required to buy half ticket for the pilgrimage.

Besides, children aged less than two years will have to pay 10% of the total amount spent for the journey to Haj and back.

The Bareilly Haj Sewa Samiti has written to UP and Central Haj Committees on Saturday protesting the new guidelines, alleging this was an attempt to stop women from going.

“Purchasing tickets for kids will now become an expensive affair for most Muslim families, since no woman will be ready to go on Haj leaving her kids back in India. As a result, women will now avoid going on the pilgrimage...“ alleged Atta-ur-Rehman, SP MLA from Baheri.

Annual Haj quota

January 2017: An increase

Saudi Arabia hikes India’s Haj quota by 34,500, Jan 12, 2017: The Hindu

Saudi Arabia has increased India’s annual Haj quota by 34,500 in January 2017.

Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Saudi Arabia’s Haj and Umrah Minister Dr. Mohammad Saleh bin Taher Benten inked an agreement in this regard in Jeddah on Wednesday, increasing India’s Haj quota from 1,36,020 to 1,70,520.

Big jump, says Minister

According to a statement issued by Minister of State for Minority Affairs (Independent Charge) Naqvi, it is the “biggest increase” in quota for Haj pilgrims after 1988. The increase will be effective from the current year.

In 2011, the Saudi authorities slashed quotas for foreign pilgrims from each country by 20 per cent considering the devotees’ safety as they undertook expansion of the Grand Mosque there.

In 2016, 1,35,903 devotees from India performed Haj.

Expressing pleasure at signing of the agreement, Mr. Naqvi tweeted, “It’s a matter of pleasure that Saudi Arabia has increased India’s Haj quota by about 34,000.”

The government started issuing Haj applications from January 2. The last date for submission of applications is January 24.

Women

Government panel: women above 45 be allowed on Haj without men

Abantika Ghosh , Government panel says women above 45 be allowed on Haj without men but only in a group of 4, October 8, 2017: The Indian Express

The Committee recommended: Ladies above 45 years of age, who wish to go for Haj but who do not have a male Mehram and their school of thought permits should be allowed to travel in groups of four or more.

Women above 45 years, unaccompanied by a male, may be able to go for Haj in groups of four if the Ministry of Minority Affairs accepts the recommendation of a committee formed to look at the Haj policy. In a report submitted to the ministry on Saturday, the committee has also endorsed the plan to phase out Haj subsidies, as per a 2012 directive of the Supreme Court.

Under the current Haj policy, women who do not have a male escort are not allowed to go on the pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. Called ‘Mehram’, an unmarriageable kin, the male escort is an essential feature of the policy, and a separate quota — of 200 now, which the committee recommends raising to 500 — is kept for women whose “only Mehram” gets selected for Haj a particular year but the woman has failed to complete the formalities on time.

The committee has recommended: “The conditions of male Mehram accompanying ladies should be insisted only for ladies below 45 years of age. Ladies above 45 years of age, who wish to go for Haj but who do not have a male Mehram and their school of thought permits should be allowed to travel in groups of four or more.”

Led by retired IAS officer Afzal Amanullah, the committee has, among its members, Justice S S Parkar, retired judge of Bombay High Court; retired IRS officer and former Haj Committee chairman Qaiser Shamim; and Kamal Faruqui, chartered accountant and a Muslim scholar.

The recommendation comes close on the heels of the Supreme Court order holding triple talaq illegal, and if accepted can be another step towards gender parity among Muslims. India’s Haj quota is 1,70,025 at present.

The committee made detailed recommendations about the quality and location of accommodation for pilgrims, the volunteers (khadim ul Hujjaj) who guide groups of pilgrims, facilities available to pilgrims on the ground, and on flight. It also dealt at length on the eligibility of private tour operators and monitoring of their quality of service.

The committee said Haj quota should be distributed in a 70:30 ratio among the Haj committee and private tour operators. It also recommended that the Haj committee should be exempted from income tax, GST, local taxes, etc, as should the air charter service that transports pilgrims.

On reduction of Haj subsidy, the committee observed that the existing phase-out plan should be adhered to and the number of embarkation points reduced from 21 to nine.

Looking at ways to phase out subsidy and reducing costs for individual pilgrims, the central government is looking at starting a sea journey to Jeddah. On this, the committee observed, “…we suggest that a global expression of interest from vessel owners having newer vessels of 4000+ capacity, who are willing to dedicate their ships for carrying pilgrims during the three-month Haj season each year from Mumbai to Jeddah, may be called by MoMA.”