What is Hajj Subsidy? Why is it Remove?

Hajj Subsidy

For thousands of Muslims who proceed haj pilgrim’s journey every year, the government withdrew the Hajj Subsidy these days. In hajj subsidy, the govt. use to provide discounts on Air India flight tickets to Hajj pilgrims. Excluding the discounted airfares, the hajj pilgrims were additionally provided help to succeed in specially designed hajj departure airport terminals and help in meals, medical care and lodging were additionally provided.Of these advantages can currently be scrapped because the Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi created the big announcement nowadays speech that the govt. believes in empowering the minority community with dignity and not social control. “We believe management while not social control,” Mr Naqvi said, adding, “Development with dignity is what we have a tendency to believe. The hajj subsidy will be used for educating women,” Mr Naqvi

In compliance with a 2012 interim order of a Muslim judge, Justice Aftab Alam, the Narendra Modi government has currently determined to scrap the so-called haj subsidy. the highest court had dominated that hajj subsidy isn’t only unconstitutional however inconsistent with the teachings of al-Qur’an.

The BJP has been critical of the pilgrim’s journey subsidy and has systematically maintained that it had been place in place to ‘appease’ Muslims, tho’ it does not oppose state spending on Hindu religious events. The court had asked the govt to phase out the subsidy over a amount of 10 years, and therefore the government deserves appreciation for doing it in less than six years.

As has been reported earlier, the Hajj subsidy mainly went to Air India and not to the individuals going on Hajj tour.

In 2016, the government charged Rs 2,21,050 for ‘green category’ pilgrims. This included airfare of Rs 45,000, airport charges of Rs 7,567 and Haj committee fee of Rs 1,000. For accommodation at Mecca and Medina, each pilgrim was charged 5,000 Saudi riyals. Then there is another head called ‘others’, under which 4,240 riyals were charged without any details of break-up. It seems that 180 riyals are for local transport and 500 riyals for Mualim (the Saudi facilitator of Hajj) fee, which means another 680 riyals. If we deduct 680 riyals from 4,240, we get 3,560 riyals – which leaves approximately Rs 64,500 that is being charged without any head. In addition, 2,100 riyals are also charged which are given back to the pilgrim on their arrival in Mecca, for food and other expenses.

Listening to the Supreme Court

The Narendra Modi government’s justification for scrapping the Hajj subsidy because of the apex court order is also strange. In a number of matters, governments not only ignored the apex court’s orders but passed laws to overturn them. For instance, the Repeated Enemy Property Ordinances are not only against the court’s orders in property disputes but also against a constitutional bench decision on ‘re-promulgation of ordinances which was held as fraud on constitution’.

Ideally, this clear-cut differentiation should cause ultimate freeing and, therefore, the decline of the influence of religion on our polity and society.