Court orders India to scrap hajj subsidies
"We hold that the policy is best done away with," said Justice Altamas Kabir, striking down New Delhi's argument that pilgrims were entitled to the state help once in their lifetime.
The court also scrapped New Delhi's plans to send a nine-member official team to Mecca for Haj.
The court stipulated that only two officials should go to the world's biggest gathering in Saudi Arabia - guardian of the two holiest Muslim places in the cities of Mecca and Medina.
According to official records, nearly 125,000 Indians enjoyed the Haj subsidy last year.
The government subsidises state-run Air India, which offers cut-rate tickets to Indian pilgrims.
COMMENTS (17)
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@Faraz: The expense on Amarnath yatra and the Kumbh mela is on security. The government also provides security for every Muharram procession and to all major mosques.
There is a big difference between paying for people's tickets to a pilgrimmage as in the case of Hajj and providing facilities and security infrastructure at major religious sites.
It was a nice little cozy arrangement: Your vote for a post-dated cheque on the public exchequer. If you didn't get elected, you were not responsible for making good on the promise. Most political parties learnt it from Nehru and his party. If Supreme Court hadn't weighed in, the day was not far off when Raoul Ghandy would dip his ladle into the pot of soup to pour it into the waiting begging bowl of a freeloader and the ladle would come up empty. People were getting fed up with this broad daylight skulduggery!
@Faraz:
It is the duty of the state to provide security for any approved gatherings, religious or otherwise, in India. That is the case with large religious processions by Hindus or Muslisms. There is nothing wrong with that.
The Haj subdiy is an entirely different one where the government foots the bill for religious travel outside India for just one communtiy.
As for payment to pujaris, that is done because the state controls all financial matters of Hindu temples. The gevernment also pays for many Imams of mosques most of whom are government aided.
I agree with you that the government should completely get out of regulating, financing or controlling temples and mosques.
These vote bank politics should be stopped . A country where so many poor people are there , there is no need of such kind of luxury .These luxury of some people is eating away bread of poor.
Faraz : Amarnath yatra and Kumbhmela are within India. Indian public has a right to demand proper facilities for travelling to these places and festivals. The govt has an obligation to do that. The govt does not pay for travelling to these places. Haj subsidy is in air fare and accommodation which is what the Court is seeking to stop. The govt is not spending in Saudi for these travellers. Learn the difference. This is pure vote bank politics and slowly it will be stopped.
Is this an indian newspaper?...if not then why are local indian issues being discussed in comments column..
Good move.
Muslim appeasement must end. Only then the Indian muslims will join the rest in the progression.
But the most important thing that our government need to do, and if it has a pair to do so, is to cut off the stranglehold of the Mullahs and the Medrassahs on the masses.
This stranglehold is actually keeping the muslims of India poor and ignorant. Darul-Ulema-E-Hind issues Fatwas that are anti-Indian and anti-humanity. Such is the backwardness of Islamic seminaries. These people want to take Indian muslims to the level of Pakistani muslims and slowly to the level of Afghan Muslims and then to the level of Arabs.
@SK - Salman:
MUSLIM judge has nothing to do with it.....
secondly, this order came after the petition from Central Hajj Committee of India to remove subsidy
Why should there be subsidy for any religion? Bravo India! Pakistan learn a lesson of secularism from your neighbor. Compete on social issues not nuclear weapons.
@alo majumdar: "Your argument could have made some sense if it was the central government that had decided this." Perhaps I should have added to my post:" Watch token feeble attempts of the government seemingly protesting the judgement." Now Muslim leaders have welcomed the judgement which is a sharp slap on the government. Do not forget that Bhishma Pitamah of BJP, Atal Vajpayee, enhanced this subsidy during his lone term at the Centre. There are Yadavs (imagine that, Lord Krishna's clan) and Paswans still hopeful they can use this artifice to garner Muslim votes.
@John B: The state DOES subsidise other religious activities in India. That includes state mandated payments to pujaris and the huge expense incurred by the state exchequer on the amaranth Yatra and the kumbh melas among others. I have personally witnessed the expense undertaken on the amaranth Yatra. Having said that, all of these expenses need to be done away with. The state and religion must be like the 'twain' thr never meet.
As a Pakistani Muslim I fully agree with the Indian Supreme Court's decision. While the gesture of the Indian government could be laudable to facilitate the pilgrimage, it does not make sense to offer such a facility to such a large minority in India, at the exclusion of others. And the judgement being delivered by a Muslim judge of the Supreme Court is all the more significant.
Yeah..Pakistan should also give subsidy to Hindu pilgrims travelling to India....did any Pak govt. ever considered doing so?
It is about time.
The hajj subsidy is essentially state sponsorship of religion. In a secular national principle India either should subsidize all religious pilgrimage(Sikh, buddists, Jains, Hindus, Christians, animists, Muslims, etc.,) or should scrape away the system. There are millions of Muslims around the world who have not been to hajj yet they lived happily and died in peace.
Hopefully all political parties have the guts to implement it without coloring it with votes.
Hajj should be subsidized by the Muslim community not by the state. That is the proper thing to do.
@G. Din: It is the Supreme court of India that has passed the order and asked the government to withdraw the subsidies over a ten year period. Your argument could have made some sense if it was the central government that had decided this.
Muslims had it coming after the way they showed they do not want to be manipulated by Congress Party for their vote-bank politics. They have shown some real "ghairat"!
Good move by the court.Why should only Muslims get subsidies?Why not Hindus,Christians? Minority appeasement?