By Ashish Joshi
As per an announcement made on Tuesday, the Government of India has withdrawn the Hajj Subsidy given to the Muslim pilgrims who undertake Hajj to Mecca and Madina. The announcement was made by Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mr Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. He further stated that the decision came under the governments policy of empowerment without appeasement and that the Rs. 450 crore that would be saved annually after the withdrawal of Hajj subsidy would be diverted towards welfare-oriented activities for minorities with the key focus on educating the girl child.
Phasing out of the Hajj subsidy
The new policy has been adopted after the recommendation of a Supreme Court bench which was formulated in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) governments regime. Based on the recommendation of the bench, Supreme Court passed a judgement in 2012 that the Hajj subsidy must be phased out by the year 2022.
The subsidy was given to Muslim Hajj pilgrims by the government in the form of discounted fares on Air India and by assisting for domestic travels, lodgings, meals and medical needs of Haajis. All the political parties and religious bodies have their own version of appreciation of this decision. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) appreciated it by saying that Muslims were anyway cheated in the name of a subsidy as it was just a transfer of funds from one government body to another, its withdrawal, however, means that the money would funnel into a direction that would lead to the empowerment of minorities. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, meanwhile, appreciated it on grounds that it would increase the government spending on the education of the girl child.
Indian secularism and personal religious laws
The Indian National Congress also appreciated the decision with hopes that the government will use the money wisely and in accordance with the apex courts suggestion. The Preamble of India calls the country a secular state, although Indias definition of secularism is imperfect and very different than the worlds. Indian secularism is about religious coexistence in public life by preserving religious laws and customs of all religions. India does not have a uniform civil code and unlike the west, the legal system of the country often champions ones personal religious laws.
Religious subsidies are often seen as anti-secular entities as they are a cooperation between the State and specific religious institutions. Removal of the Hajj Subsidy should be nothing more than a start as the truth is that the state still pumps in a great amount of money in support of religious activities. Spendings on Kumbh Gatherings, Amarnath Yatra, Mansarovar Yatra and many more such events add-up to well in thousands of crores worth of taxpayers money. Strengthening the state should always be preferred over religious priorities of certain people, therefore, any form of religious spending is as much anti-national as it is anti-secular.
What the 21st century India needs is not its religious subsidies but an investment of its resources on itself and its people. When we still have children who are hungry, men who are unemployed and diseased who are unattended, how can we spend huge sums of money on what is supposed to be a private life affair of an individual?
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