Haj Subsidy

The Haj subsidy provided by the government was removed last year in the light of a Supreme Court order of 2012.

Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Sunday said a record number of two lakh Indian Muslims will go to Haj this year, that too without any subsidy, on more than 500 flights from 21 embarkation points across the country.

Despite the removal of the Haj subsidy from the 2018 pilgrimage season, there was no financial burden on the pilgrims as middlemen were eliminated and a transparent, fully online system was put in place, Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today said Rs 57 crore less will be paid to airlines this year for Haj pilgrims travelling through the Haj Committee of India even after the ending of subsidy for the pilgrimage.

In a secular country such as India, should public money be used to fund individuals to join religious yatras of their choice?

A day after the Narendra Modi government announced withdrawal of the Haj subsidy, prominent Muslim organisations, including Jamat-e-Islami Hind (JIH), All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, on Wednesday reiterated their demand for competitive bidding among airlines to ferry Haj pilgrims between Delhi and Jeddah.

Minority affairs ministers and ministers of social justice from several states will discuss measures to empower minorities "without appeasement" at a meet in Lucknow today, Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Wednesday.

In a big move by the government, Haj subsidy for thousands of Muslims who go on Haj pilgrimage each year was today scrapped. This means that the Haj pilgrims will no longer get benefits like discounts on Air India flight tickets.

In a big move by the government, Haj subsidy for thousands of Muslims who go on Haj pilgrimage each year has been scrapped.

Thousands of Muslims who go on Haj pilgrimage each year will no longer get subsidised or cheaper air tickets, the government said today. The big move would help empower Muslims with dignity, said union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, adding, "We believe in empowerment without appeasement."

He made light of the Ganga being declared a "living entity", debated BJP's promise of building a Ram Mandir and wondered why the Centre was not withdrawing the Haj subsidy given to Air India.

Abolishing subsidy for Haj pilgrims and allowing women above 45 to travel in a group of at least four without a male member are some of the key highlights of a proposed Haj policy drafted by a committee appointed by the Centre, sources said.

A meeting of Muslim religious organisations on Thursday opined that they were not opposed to doing away with the Haj subsidy in a phased manner.

The Kerala Government would convene a meeting of Muslim religious organisations in the state to elicit their views on the recent Supreme Court direction to the Centre to phase out Haj subsidy, according to Industries Minister PK Kunhalikutty.

Kerala has expressed disappointment over the Centre rejecting its request for raising the state's Haj quota by determining the number of pilgrims to be flown to Mecca on the basis of total number of applicants from each state.

The Haj subsidy provided by the government was removed last year in the light of a Supreme Court order of 2012.

Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Sunday said a record number of two lakh Indian Muslims will go to Haj this year, that too without any subsidy, on more than 500 flights from 21 embarkation points across the country.

Despite the removal of the Haj subsidy from the 2018 pilgrimage season, there was no financial burden on the pilgrims as middlemen were eliminated and a transparent, fully online system was put in place, Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today said Rs 57 crore less will be paid to airlines this year for Haj pilgrims travelling through the Haj Committee of India even after the ending of subsidy for the pilgrimage.

In a secular country such as India, should public money be used to fund individuals to join religious yatras of their choice?

A day after the Narendra Modi government announced withdrawal of the Haj subsidy, prominent Muslim organisations, including Jamat-e-Islami Hind (JIH), All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, on Wednesday reiterated their demand for competitive bidding among airlines to ferry Haj pilgrims between Delhi and Jeddah.

Minority affairs ministers and ministers of social justice from several states will discuss measures to empower minorities "without appeasement" at a meet in Lucknow today, Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Wednesday.

In a big move by the government, Haj subsidy for thousands of Muslims who go on Haj pilgrimage each year was today scrapped. This means that the Haj pilgrims will no longer get benefits like discounts on Air India flight tickets.

In a big move by the government, Haj subsidy for thousands of Muslims who go on Haj pilgrimage each year has been scrapped.

Thousands of Muslims who go on Haj pilgrimage each year will no longer get subsidised or cheaper air tickets, the government said today. The big move would help empower Muslims with dignity, said union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, adding, "We believe in empowerment without appeasement."

He made light of the Ganga being declared a "living entity", debated BJP's promise of building a Ram Mandir and wondered why the Centre was not withdrawing the Haj subsidy given to Air India.

Abolishing subsidy for Haj pilgrims and allowing women above 45 to travel in a group of at least four without a male member are some of the key highlights of a proposed Haj policy drafted by a committee appointed by the Centre, sources said.

A meeting of Muslim religious organisations on Thursday opined that they were not opposed to doing away with the Haj subsidy in a phased manner.

The Kerala Government would convene a meeting of Muslim religious organisations in the state to elicit their views on the recent Supreme Court direction to the Centre to phase out Haj subsidy, according to Industries Minister PK Kunhalikutty.

Kerala has expressed disappointment over the Centre rejecting its request for raising the state's Haj quota by determining the number of pilgrims to be flown to Mecca on the basis of total number of applicants from each state.