An Indian court scraps Hajj subsidies

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Several newspapers reported news which says that the India’s Supreme Court ordered the government to scrap a state policy of subsidizing the travel of thousands of Muslims to Mecca for the annual hajj pilgrimage."We hold that the policy is best done away with and it should be eliminated over 10 years," said Judge Altamas Kabir.It is worth mentioning that, according to official records, nearly 125,000 Indians enjoyed the hajj subsidy last year. The government subsidizes state-run Air India, which offers cut-rate tickets to Indian pilgrims.The main reason behind scrapping the Hajj subsidies granted to the Muslim pilgrims, who constitute 15% of India’s overall population, is that the subsidies were supposed to be granted to the poorest members of the society who cannot afford the trip; however, subsidies were given out regardless of the pilgrims’ financial abilities, which brought up many criticisms./129