Consider UP Minister’s appeal, court directive
Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mohsin Raza's appeal to Muslims to give up the Haj subsidy if they can afford the pilgrimage through their own means is both morally and economically sound. The Government spends more than Rs650 crore a year on providing subsidy to Haj pilgrims, and a number of the beneficiaries come from an economic strata of society which can spend money from its own pocket for the pilgrimage. This in turn results in a vast majority of those that cannot afford the Haj but also do not get a slice of the subsidy cake, stranded. Raza's request must not fall on deaf ears, because he has only reiterated the underlying spirit of the pilgrimage — which is to extend a helping hand to the needy and be compassionate by nature.
It would indeed be a wonderful gesture if those who can go on Haj through their resources do so and leave the subsidy to be availed of by the truly needy — and deserving. It remains to be seen how the Muslim community in the State, and elsewhere in the country, reacts to his remark. One can only hope that critics of the newly-installed Adityanath Yogi Government in Uttar Pradesh do not imagine a ‘communal' agenda in Raza's appeal. The high subsidy bill has, meanwhile, led the Union Government to study various cost-reduction measures, as Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi recently indicated. The trimming down of the embarkation points — from the present 21 to less than 10 — is being considered. A revised Haj policy for 2018 is also on the anvil, with a group of experts deliberating on the issue. Besides suggesting ways to reduce costs, the panel will also recommend various steps to enhance the quality of service the Government provides to Haj pilgrims from India.
The Union Government's resolve to bring in changes has been prompted by a 2012 Supreme Court directive that Haj subsidy must be gradually reduced and finally abolished. Given that the apex court gave a 10-year time-frame, the Government has to scramble to meet the 2022 deadline. Various measures such as reducing the points where pilgrims embark, and the Uttar Pradesh Minister's request, are to be seen in that context. While calling for an end to the subsidy regime, the Supreme Court had said that the money saved through Haj subsidy, could be utilised to empower the minority community by investment in education, health, employment etc. This makes eminent sense. The apex court's directive was significant because, earlier, it had upheld the legal validity of extending subsidies to Haj pilgrims. There had been a change in thinking, though the court did not specifically go into the legal validity part. The court had appealed to the minority community's conscience when it observed that many Haj pilgrims did not know of the economics of the pilgrimage, and that if they did, they would not take the subsidy. Sadly, the remark didn't lead to any significant drop in the subsidy bill.