Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Tuesday announced the Centre would phase out subsidies for the annual Haj pilgrimage, two months after his Ministry had taken the decision.
“It is part of the Modi government’s efforts to empower minorities with dignity and without appeasement,” he told a media briefing at the BJP headquarters here. The decision was first reported in The Hindu in November.
The Centre’s decision followed
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In November Mr. Naqvi told
A new Haj policy, formulated by a committee headed by former bureaucrat Afzal Amanullah had also suggested that women Hajis be allowed to perform the pilgrimage without male escort, or mehram. In a first, a batch of over 1300 women will perform the annual pilgrimage of Haj from India without a mehram this year.
“Woman Haj assistants would accompany them and arrangements have been made,” Mr. Naqvi said.
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