BHOPAL, India, 26 December 2005 — A public interest litigation filed at the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has demanded that Haj subsidy granted to pilgrims from the Consolidated Fund of India be declared unconstitutional.
The Union of India, the government’s Cabinet secretary and the prime minister as the head of the Council of Ministers have been made respondents in the case.
The case filed by Indore business executive Mohammed Ahad Khan said that Haj is a duty for all Muslims who are in a position physically and financially to do it. A Muslim is required to do the pilgrimage spending money earned by him without taking help from anyone including his close relatives, and only his wife can do it at his expense, Khan said.
He argued that the subsidy was being offered as a temptation to gain political support and garner votes from Muslims, making them a party to a breach of their own religion.
It is a known fact, says Khan, that other citizens including Sikhs and Hindus do not receive subsidy if they go on a religious mission anywhere in the country or outside India. This includes visits to Punja Sahib or other gurudwaras in Pakistan or temples in Nepal.
