Haj subsidy
The Haj subsidy is an airfare subsidy given to Indian Muslim Hajj pilgrims. Pilgrims applying through the Haj Committee of India are offered the concessionary fare. The Government of India pays the subsidy to Air India.[1]
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[edit] Cost
In 2007 the Haj subsidy paid by the Indian government was 5.95 billion rupees, and for 2008 it was Rs. 7.7 billion.[2] Since 1994 the round trip cost to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia has been fixed at Rs. 12,000 per pilgrim, and the government has footed the rest of the bill. In 2007 the government spent Rs. 47,454 per passenger.[3]
[edit] Supreme Court verdict
B.N. Shukla and former BJP Rajya Sabha member Prafull Goradiya filed Public Interest Litigation seeking to end Haj subsidies by declaring government funding of pilgrimages outside India to be unconstitutional. In response, the Supreme Court of India decided to permit the Haj subsidy to continue, citing the example of the far smaller subsidies (Rs 200 per person) provided for pilgrims to Lake Manasarovar in Tibet.[4]
[edit] Criticism
Considerable criticism has been leveled against this practice, both by Hindu organizations opposed to state funding of private pilgrimage outside India and by Muslim pressure groups. As an example of the latter, Mohib Ahmad contends that even Air India's subsidized fare is higher than competing airlines' ordinary fare.[5] However, the government has continued offering the Haj subsidy despite protests from the Muslim community at large. Syed Shahabuddin claims that Air India's rising costs for travel, and the consequent increases in the Government of India's subsidy, have resulted partly from differences in foreign exchange rates beyond the airline's control. He suggests charter fares should be set at two-thirds of regular IATA fares, but points out that the Haj has higher costs than other charters because two empty flights are required to return the aircraft to India and to position the aircraft in Arabia for the pilgrims' return journey.[6] Shahabuddin maintains that the subsidy ought to be phased out because Hindus view the subsidy as preferential treatment of India's Muslim minority.[6]
Other Muslim leaders have argued that the Hajj subsidy is "un-Islamic" and that Hajj money should be invested in education and health instead. Maulana Mehmood Madani, a member of the Rajya Sabha and general secretary of the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind, declared that the Hajj subsidy is a technical violation of Islamic Sharia, since the Koran declares that Hajj should be performed by Muslims using their own resources.[7] Influential Muslim lobbies in India have regularly insisted that the Hajj subsidy should be phased out as it is UnIslamic.[8] Likewise, Hindu groups argue that a government sponsored Hajj subsidy forcibly taxes Hindus to pay for Muslim religious pilgrimages, and tantamounts to appeasement of Islam.[9]
[edit] Haj subsidy phaseout
In August 2010, the Minority Affairs Ministry formally opposed providing subsidy for Haj pilgrimage, saying the scheme — in operation since 1993— was contrary to the teachings of Islam. The Government of India has proposed that starting from 2011, the amount of government subsidy per person will be decreased, and by 2017 will be ended completely. (Instead, “a premium would be charged from better-off Hajis to cross-subsidise the travel cost for the less well-off Hajis”.)[10]
[edit] References
- ^ Press Information Bureau, "Hajj operation in India 2006", December 2006, accessed 26 June 2009.
- ^ http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-06-17/chennai/29669335_1_haj-pilgrims-flight-tickets-and-accommodation-airline
- ^ Shauvik Ghosh, "Haj subsidy has Air India fuming", The Financial Express, 13 September 2008, accessed 26 June 2009
- ^ "Supreme Court clears Haj subsidy for this year", The Hindu, 22 January 2008, accessed 26 June 2009.
- ^ Mohib Ahmad, "Haj Subsidy, Anyone?", Indian Muslims blog, 18 January 2006, accessed 25 June 2009.
- ^ a b Syed Shahabuddin, "Haj subsidy is a fact and must go eventually", The Milli Gazette, 15 September 2002, accessed 26 June 2009.
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- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ Ranjan, Amitav (13 October 2010). "Haj subsidy cuts start soon". The India Express. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/haj-subsidy-cuts-start-soon/696844/. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
