The Minority Affairs Ministry had constituted a committee to review the existing Haj policy and suggest changes for the policy between 2018 and 2022.
The Haj Committee has made a set of recommendations for the framework of new Haj Policy. Fewer embarkation points for Haj pilgrims, travel to Mecca by ship, and allowing groups of women above the age of 45 years to travel with men are some of the key points. The committee submitted the proposals to Union Minister of Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi in Mumbai on Friday.
The committee also suggested a redistribution of Haj seats among the state according to the Muslim populations. It also suggested the ratio between pilgrims going through the Haj Committee of India (HCOI) and those travelling by registered Private Tour Operators (PTOs) should be divided in the ratio of 70:30, and recommended a 'robust' portal to be made for PTOs.
The Minority Affairs Ministry had constituted a committee to review the existing Haj policy and suggest changes for the policy between 2018 and 2022.
As per the recommendations, the number of embarkation points, which were earlier 21, have been brought down to nine points, including Delhi, Lucknow, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Kochi. The committee also recommended that the Saudi government be consulted about travel to Mecca via ships and if feasible, an expression of interest be floated to gauge the market for it.
Interestingly, the Committee also suggested that women above the age of 45 years be allowed to travel in groups of four or above without mehram (a male family member). The mandate of the committee was to take into consideration the implications of various directions of the Supreme Court and look at the arrangements made by the HCOI for pilgrims to suggest suitable changes. Retired bureaucrat Afzal Amanullah was the convenor of the panel while former Bombay High Court Judge SS Parkar, retired bureaucrat Qaiser Shamim, former HCOI chairman Kamal Faruqui, were some of the experts on the panel. J Alam, minority affairs ministry joint secretary, in-charge of Haj, was the member secretary of the Committee.
India's quota for Haj pilgrims, as fixed by the Saudi Arabian government, was 1,36,020 in 2013, which was increased to 1,70,025 in 2017. In 2016, India sent 1,35,902 pilgrims of which 99,902 went through the HCOI while 36,000 through private operators.
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