Indian Muslims in Lucknow on their way to Saudi Arabia covered by Hajj subsidy (air tickets)
The Haj subsidy was a subsidy based on religion that was given to Hajj pilgrims by the Government of India in the form of discounted air fare so that a pilgrim can fly to Mecca for Hajj.[1] The policy has always been controversial until it was abolished under the ruling of the Indian judicial organs.[2]
In the Post-colonial era, the INC-led Government of India enacted the program in 1959 with the Hajj Act.[3] The subsidy initially applied to Indian Muslim pilgrims traveling for religious reasons to Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Jordan by road and by sea. Expanded Haj subsidy started in 1954, as an idea initiated by the then government, with flights between Mumbai and Jeddah. Additional flight legs were added over the years, and since 1984, all Haj traffic has been shared by Air India and Saudia, the national carriers of India and Saudi Arabia. The monopoly of these airlines had proven the most contentious point of the subsidy, with some claiming that the real beneficiary is Air India as the subsidy is actually a discount on an overpriced air fare.[4] In the past, the Haj board used to call for a bid to fly these Muslims to Mecca; for many years, Saudi Arabia (Saudi government owned airline) has been the lowest bidder.[2] There were also requests by Muslims to withdraw subsidy, including from some Muslim members of the Parliament, since they believed it was unnecessary and provided poor quality service to Hajis.[5]
In May 2012, the Supreme Court of India bench, composed of Altamas Kabir and Ranjana Desai, ordered the government to end the practice by 2022.[6][7] "We direct the Central government to progressively reduce the amount of subsidy so as to completely eliminate it within a period of 10 years from today," said a bench of Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana P Desai.[8]
"The subsidy money may be more profitably used for uplift of the community in education and other indices of social development," said Justice Alam, who wrote the order. The court said it has no authority to speak on the minority community's behalf and that it would be presumptuous to tell the Muslims what was a good or bad religious practice even though it cited Quran to say that haj pilgrimage was mandatory only for those who could afford the expenses for traveling, food and accommodation.[8]
In a Central Haj Committee meeting in November 2017, it was decided that Haj subsidy would be completely phased out by 2018 and that the funds would be used for educational programmes, especially for girls in minority communities.[9][10] On 16 January 2018, the Union minister for minority affairs confirmed that the Haj subsidy had been ended and that its funding would be used for educating girls from minority communities.[11]
^Cite error: The named reference uphaj was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ab"Haj subsidy cancelled: All you need to know about the 85-year-old policy". The Indian Express. 16 January 2018. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
^The Haj Committee Act, 1959 Government of India
^Vij, Shivam (28 February 2011). "The myth of India's Hajj subsidy: Muhammad Farooq". Kafila. Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
^"Muslim MPs demand withdrawal of subsidy on Haj travel". 7 March 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
^"SC STRIKES DOWN HAJ SUBSIDY". 8 May 2012.
^Cite error: The named reference voa120510 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ab"Abolish haj subsidy in 10 years: Supreme Court to government". The Times of India. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
^Hebbar, Nistula (3 November 2017). "Haj subsidy to be phased out next year". The Hindu.
^"Women over 45 years no longer need mehram to go on Haj". 4 November 2017.
^"Centre ends Haj subsidy as part of policy to 'empower minorities without appeasement'". The Times of India. 16 January 2018. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
The Hajsubsidy was a subsidy based on religion that was given to Hajj pilgrims by the Government of India in the form of discounted air fare so that...
(in Hindi). 4 November 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023. "Hajsubsidy: Centre ends Hajsubsidy as part of policy to 'empower minorities without appeasement'"...
Hajj (/hɑːdʒ/; Arabic: حَجّ, romanized: Ḥajj; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city...
government subsidy for Haj pilgrimage, not the affluent Muslims, He added that it would be his priority to ensure 'deserving Muslims' get Hajsubsidy. "We will...
ideology but not against Hindus. Owaisi argues for the abolition of the Hajsubsidy given to the Indian Muslims for travelling to Mecca on religious pilgrimage...
did not get similar subsidy for trips to their own holy places. The central government spent about $120 million in Hajsubsidies in 2011. In 2012, the...
India. Retrieved 26 December 2012. "SC STRIKES DOWN HAJSUBSIDY". 8 May 2012. "kabir ranjana haj". The Economic Times. 8 May 2012. "SC grants bail to...
strikes down Hajsubsidy - Livemint". www.livemint.com. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2018. "Supreme Court disapproves Hajsubsidy, to be eliminated...
through establishment of cultural and education institutions. The Hajsubsidy is a subsidy given to Indian Muslim Hajj pilgrims by the Government of India...
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constant NATO, US presence". Associated Press. 16 January 2016.[dead link] al-Haj, Ahmed (18 January 2016). "Airstrike by Saudi-led coalition hits building...
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(FCJ) Forestry Department Harmonization Limited Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ) IMF Coordination Unit Jamaica Business Development Centre (JBDC) Jamaica...
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word for Haredim, is Yiddish-accented Hebrew for 'religious'." Nadia Abu El-Haj. Facts on the ground: Archaeological practice and territorial self-fashioning...
History of Saudi Arabia. London: Saqi Books. pp. 139–141. ISBN 0863563996. Haj, Samira (30 April 2007). "Reordering Islamic Orthodoxy: Muhammad ibn 'Abdul...
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