With Saudi Arabia increasing India’s Haj quota to two lakh, all applicants from big states such as Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar have been cleared for going on the pilgrimage, sources in the Minority Affairs Ministry said.
On Friday, the Saudi Arabian government issued a formalorder with regard to the increase in India’s Haj quota.
At a meeting here in February that was attended by SaudiCrown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ExternalAffairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar AbbasNaqvi, Saudi Arabia had increased India’s quota by about 25,000, taking thenumber of pilgrims from India who can perform Haj to two lakh.
“Due to the significant increase in India’s Haj quota,all the applicants from Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andaman and NicobarIslands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Goa, Manipur, Lakshadweep, Odisha, Puducherry,Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Daman and Diu, Himachal Pradesh,Jharkhand, Punjab, Tripura, will go on Haj,” a source said.
A record number of two lakh Indian Muslims will perform Hajthis year without subsidy.
Another highlight this year is that 2,340 Muslim women fromIndia will also go for the pilgrimage without ‘Mehram’ or male companion.
A total of 34,397 applications were received from UttarPradesh this year, 8,470 from West Bengal, 191 from Goa, 499 from Manipur, 698from Odisha, 2,138 from Andhra Pradesh, 3,588 from Assam, 4,950 from Bihar, 72from Himachal Pradesh, 2,233 from Jharkhand, 342 from Punjab, and 110 fromTripura.
All these applicants have become eligible to go on Haj afterthe increase in India’s quota, the sources said.
India’s Haj quota has gone up sharply in the last five yearsas it was 1,36,000 in 2014, they said, adding that the minority affairsminister had made efforts to increase India’s quota to two lakh whichfructified when the Saudi Prince acceded to the request made by Modi earlier thisyear.