Haj quota will go up, hope Indian officials

JEDDAH — Indian officials, while lauding this year’s Haj not only for the word class Saudi services, were of the view that with the expansion of the Grand Mosque now nearly complete the nations’ quota of pilgrims would increase in the near future. They expressed this hope that the numbers would be restored to the previous number soon during the question and answer session at a press conference at the Indian Consulate premises here on Thursday. Indian Haj Goodwill Delegation leader Zafar Sareshwala, chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University, termed the services provided by the Saudis as just world class and ‘unblemished’, after Indian Ambassador Ahmad Javed praised the smooth and successful completion of the Haj. “This was a very smooth and successful Haj. As far as we are concerned I would like to add that a little more technology was used and we had a little more of the learning experience, where we built on our past experiences,” Javed said. Sareshwala along with deputy leader of the delegation Mohamadali Kadri, chairman of Gujarat State Haj Committee, Ambassador Javed, Consul General Md. Noor Rahman Sheikh, and Deputy Consul General Shahid Alam addressed the press. Both, the delegation leader and the ambassador, cited the near-perfect arrangements made by the Saudi government as a major reason for the success of the Haj, but also emphasized that the improved services by the Indian Haj committee to its pilgrims enabled them to complete their rituals in ease and comfort. Tackling the question on the restoration of the original or increased quotas, Ambassador Javed stated that hopefully the numbers would be restored soon. “The first thing to happen when the Saudi authorities look into this issue, would be that the numbers we had would be restored. We would get the186,000 numbers back according to the ratio… “When we were talking about our agreement in March, the expansion was ongoing… but between March and now a lot of things have happened…and so will between now and next March. Then with the expansion complete more pilgrims would be accommodated. Then according to the rules laid down by Saudi authorities, every country would get an increase in their quota,” Javed said. Javed, while praising the Saudis for their quick response and support, said that prompt and positive efforts were done by both the sides to make things much smoother. “In addition, the kind of work done by the consulate and the volunteers from India was wonderful. The level of responsibility of the officials on deputation spoke volumes of the services accorded to the pilgrims by the Indian Haj mission.” Sareshwala, when asked what role would the missions play next year when the Ministry of Minorities Affairs would be in charge of Haj arrangements and how it will affect the Haj management if the control changed hands from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the system revamped, was categorical in his assertion that “It should be the way it is. I do not know what the government will decide, but I state ultimately this nomenclature will not change.” Sareshwala expounded that he too had wanted the Haj affairs to be under the Ministry of Minorities Affair earlier, but after performing Haj this year and seeing the arrangements, his views have now changed. “I too was of the view that it (Haj) should be under the Ministry of Minorities Affairs. But I have changed my views. It should be the way it is… I don’t think anybody less then the MEA can do this work. I would be making this point in my report to the government… and my view is that the MEA is the best to do this, for the kind of officers the MEA has only they are capable of doing this kind of work and handle this scale of operation.” Consul General Sheikh, while calling this year’s Haj as the most convenient and comfortable, also stressed on the use of the e-bracelet, which has been in use for the third consecutive year — albeit for the first time the complete program was in place, and its utility. “It has been helpful in locating the missing. The number of missing cases has dropped, as in previous years it would be around 400 cases daily, but this time round it was in the region of 50-60, and it was easy for us to locate these Hajis," he said.