Central Government ends Haj subsidy
Subsidy for Haj pilgrims will be scrapped this year, the government said today. “We believe in empowerment without appeasement,” said Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who is Minister for Minority Affairs.
The minister said 1,75,000 pilgrims, the highest ever, would go on Haj this year. “Muslims didn’t benefit from it. Development with dignity is what we believe in. The subsidy will be used for educating girls,” Mr Naqvi said.
A policy to withdraw the Haj subsidy had been drafted in light of a 2012 Supreme Court order asking the Centre to abolish it gradually by 2022. The government will offer air and waterways option for the pilgrims as cost will go up. The decision comes days after the government allowed Muslim women above the age of 45 to go on haj without a male guardian, in a group of at least four.
The highest number of pilgrims are likely to go for Haj pilgrimage in 2018, after Saudi Arabia hiked India’s pilgrim quota by 5,000 earlier this year. Now, a total of 1.75 lakh Indian citizens can go for Haj.
