Only 1 in 4 Indian applicants will make it to Haj this year
Mohammed Wajihuddin
Mumbai
TNN
Only one in four of Indian Muslims desiring to perform Haj will be travelling to Saudi Arabia this year.The 20% reduction in Haj quota ordered by the Saudi government is causing a huge backlog of pilgrims who want to perform the “once-in-a-lifetime“ ritual.
Muslim leaders have demanded an increase in quota for India as the latest census data shows a rise in Muslim population (172.2 million or 14.23% of India's population). The Saudi government allows one pilgrim per 1,000 Muslims in a country to go for the Haj.
The Haj Committee of India said around 3.83 lakh people applied for Haj 2015 but only 1.20 lakh pilgrims are travelling through the Haj Committee to Saudi Arabia o perform the rituals in the ast week of this month.Around 36,000 are using private tour operators (PTOs) to ly to Saudi Arabia. “Since 2013, the Saudi government has cut 20% quota of pil grims from every country as the expansion of the holy mosque in Mecca is under way and the administration wants fewer pilgrims there,“ said Haj Committee CEO Ataur Rahman.
