Number of Pilgrims

According to the data obtained from Saudi Arabia authorities, a total of 91,190 pilgrims from India performed Haj this year. 62,170 pilgrims came under the aegis of the Haj Committee, Mumbai and 29,083 came either on their own or through tour operators. This does not include members from the local Indian community nor Indians from the GCC countries and other parts of the world.

India                            91,190

Pakistan                      91,000

Iran                             79,000

Indonesia                    70,000

Egypt                          67,000

Turkey                        60,000

Haj Charter Operations: Haj Charter operations started on 18t February, 1999. A total of 160 flights were scheduled. However ... there were only 156 flights. The first phase of operations ended on 19u March, 1999. The break up of incoming and return flights is as follows:

* One flight No.AI-7115 from Bangalore was clubbed together with AI-4115 from Mumbai on 14th March. 15 pilgrims came on a commercial Air India flight from Delhi and these numbers have been included in the Delhi flights.

The return phase of the Haj charter flight operations (Phase II) started on 1s April, 1999 and continued upto 30 April, 1999.

The second phase was dogged by delays and a lot of other problems. A high level enquiry is necessary into these operations - the role of Tower Air, Air Atlanta, Air India, Attar Travels and Haj Committee.

Accommodation Arrangements: (Against the) final pilgrims data in respect of 62,698 pilgrims received from the Haj Committee, only 62,107 pilgrims actually came to Saudi Arabia for performance of Haj ... Accommodation for them at Makkah was arranged as under:

Category - I                 : 26,059 units (69 buildings)

Category - II               : 32,032 units (382 buildings)

Total                            : 58,091 units (451 buildings)

Remaining pilgrims stayed in Rubats or with friends/ relatives (exempted category).

In Makkah, the Indian pilgrims were proportionately divided by the South Asian Moassassa authorities amongst 17 Moallims (as compared to 20 Moallims last year). By and large, accommodation was satisfactory. Pilgrims found it difficult to use European style commodes, lifts and air conditioners.

Housing at Madinah: The contract for accommodation for pilgrims in Madinah, where pilgrims spent eight days, was awarded to four contractors ... at the rate of SR 200 per pilgrim. 30% pilgrims were to be accommodated within the first ring road, 25% on the ring road and 45% upto a distance of 750 mtrs. From the Masjid-e-Nabwi. By and large, accommodation was satisfactory.

Housing at Mina: This year, all the Indian pilgrims were housed by the Moallims in fire-proof tents at Mina. There were a few complaints of over-crowding in some of the Moallim camps.

Transportation: ... While transportation from Jeddah to Makkah, Makkah to Madinah and back to Jeddah was satisfactory with minor aberrations, the transportation during Haj to Mina, Arafat, Muzdalifah, Mina and Makkah was not upto the mark. Many pilgrims either had to walk or arrange private transportation to Mina and Makkah after Haj.

Facilities for Pilgrims: ... The CGI had opened 9 Branch Haj Offices in Makkah ... 9 Branch Dispensaries were also opened in addition to the main dispensary and a 10-bedded hospital. Two Pilgrims Information Centres were opened ... Branch Haj Offices as well as Branch Dispensaries were manned by administrative and medical staff deputed by the Government of India on duty round the clock ... Locally recruited building supervisors as well as messengers were deployed in Branch Haj Offices to attend to the complaints of the pilgrims, if any, about the services in buildings, and to get them redressed on the spot ... Additionally, at the main Indian Haj Office in Makkah, different cells ... were opened to facilitate the ... pilgrims ... A fully manned Control Room was functional  at Makkah even during the core Haj period.

Eleven mobile medical teams, each comprising of a medical doctor and a pharmacist, were pressed into service ... to treat the ailing on their door steps. Similarly in Madinah ... two Branch Haj Offices as well as two Branch Dispensaries were opened besides the Main Haj Office and the Main Indian Dispensary.

A total of 2,46,642 services were offered by the Medical Mission at Makkah, Madinah, Mina, Arafat and Jeddah Haj Terminal. A total of 545 patients were treated at the 10-bedded hospital at IHO, Makkah.

Medicines worth more than Rs.45 lakhs were supplied by the Government of India. Most of the medicines were supplied late and some are believed to be of sub-standard quality ... Even those hospitalised were taken to Arafat to perform Haj in ambulances of the CGI ...

161 Indian pilgrims died due to natural causes. Another 4 died in accidents. Out of these, 121 are Haj Committee pilgrims ... A total of 7 babies were born to Indian pilgrims during the Haj period this year.

The Embassy and the Consulate General of India  offices functioned in the Embassy of India camps at Mina and Arafat during the core Haj period from 25-29 March, 1999 and extended medical help as well as help in guiding the pilgrims to their tents. Also, seventeen teams comprising of doctors and pharmacists/nurses were deployed in the 17 Indian Maktabs in Mina to provide medical assistance to the pilgrims ..

A Task Force, comprising of 20 deputationists and 10 locally recruited supervisors, was formed to supervise the Madinah Movement of pilgrims from Makkah each day (and) during the core Haj period at various strategic points near Jamarat to guide Indian pilgrims at the time of stoning .... The white cap with India written in various languages and with the Indian colours worn by deputationists and staff and translators positioned in the major hospitals at Makkah were (great help to the) pilgrims ...

... Arrangements for reception of pilgrims at the Haj Terminal on their arrival and departure were also made ...  The large percentage of out of turn arrivals of pilgrims from India (45 per cent) posed a lot of problems but the situation was managed by the staff. Five pilgrims came without passports and many lost theirs on arrival.

Encashment of bank drafts also posed lot of problems and delayed departure of pilgrims to Makkah by 3-4 hours ...Left over luggage retrieved by us from Makkah and Madinah were sent to the last two Haj charter flights to Mumbai and the last charter flight to Delhi.

Support staff from India:

The GOI sent a total of 362 deputationists to help the CGI ... The category-wise break is as under:

Deputationists                                   Nos.

Assistant Haj Officers            :           39

Haj Assistants                         :           105

Doctors                                   :           99

Paramedical staff                    :           119

Total                                       :           362

Post Haj services suffered due to the fact that deputationists were tired/sick after Haj. It would be advisable to have 50 per cent deputationists stationed at Makkah and.Mina during the core Haj period rather than allowing them to go to Arafat for Haj.

Seasoned Staff: Additionally, the Government of India also sanctioned employment of local staff on Haj ManMonths basis as under:

HMM Staff                            :           Nos.

Building Supervisors/Clerks  :           187

Data Entry Operators              :           15

Drivers                                                :           25

Messengers                             :           86

Total                                       :           313

Khadimul Hujjaj: For Haj 1999, a total of 98 Khadimul Hujjaj were sent by 13 State Haj Committees. Out of these, 64 were first timers as far as Haj is concerned. ...

The first timers could not help nor render service to pilgrims in the desired manner ...

Training and Orientation of Pilgrims: Unfortunately, this was not done in India and pilgrims faced problems because most them were unaware of the rituals of Umrah, Haj and the living conditions in Saudi Arabia. Most of them who came from rural areas and were semi-literate were not used to using European style living. As a private initiative 60,000 copies of do's and don't ir five languages (English, Hindi, Urdu, Tamil and Malayalam) were distributed to pilgrims at the airport and 10,000 copies of a booklet in Urdu about the 5 days of Haj were distributed to pilgrims in Makkah. The Saudi Haj Minister had stressed this point in the meting with the Government of India Delegation ... (and) was assured that each pilgrim would be trained in India before coming for Haj. This promise was not kept!

Haj Goodwill Delegation: ... A 30-member delegation headed by Prof. A.M. Khusro, Chairman, Finance Commission was sent this year. Most of them were accompanied by dependents taking the total number to 60 ... The CGI deployed five liaison officers and two messengers with them, and placed three air-conditioned buses with full time drivers at their disposal in addition to one car with driver and a mobile telephone for the leader of the delegation ... Usefulness of the delegation is questionable considering that Government spends around Rs.10,00,000 on each delegate.

Voluntary Effort: As in the previous two yeas, the voluntary organisation - Indian Pilgrims Welfare Forum (IPWF) - provided very good services for the welfare of pilgrims. It gave two computers with printers for the Pilgrims Information Centres deputed Arabic knowing people at hospitals and near the Haram Sharif to help pilgrims, provided some manpower for the Pilgrims Information Centres also, published 60,000 pamphlets and 10,000 booklets given to pilgrims about Haj written ... at a cost of Saudi Riyals 31,800/ -.

Apart from this, needy Indian pilgrims were given financial assistance to the tune of Saudi Riyals 25,000/-, those who had lost all their money due to pickpocket or theft.

92 Haj Committee pilgrims have not travelled back on chartered flights.

On the whole, the conduct of Haj this year was smooth and successful. (Source: Consulate General of India, Jeddah)

Khuddamul Hujjaj, 1999

Members of Government Haj Goodwill Delegation, 1999

1.A.M. Khusro, Chairman, Finance Commission - Leader

2.Arif Mohd. Khan, MP (UP)

3.Shariq Shariefuddin, MP (J&K)

4.K.M. Shaifullah, MP (AP)

5.Abdul Rashid Kabuli, ex-MP

6.Roshan Baig, Minister, Karnataka

7.Smt. Zakiya, Minister, Rajasthan

8.S.A. Shakeel Basha, Minister, AP

9.Ghulam Ahmed Shah Peerzada, Minister, J&K

10. Abdul Rashid Dar, Dy. Chairman, J&K Leg. Council

11. K. Mohammed Ali, MLA, Kerala

12. Chiraghuddin Qureshi, Chairman, Delhi Wakf Board

13. Syed Yousuf Ali, Chairman, AP State Wakf Board

14. Ahmed Shareef, Chairman, AP Minority Finance Corporation

15. Prof. S.M.S. Al-Kadri, Chairman, W. Bengal Minority Commission

16. Mir Hyder Ali Khan, Chairman, Sports Authority, AP

17. Mir Ahmed Ali, National President, BJP Minority Morcha

18. Qaisar Shamim, Commissioner of Income Tax, New Delhi (Member Secretary)

19. Dr. M. Wali, Former Physician to President.

20. Dr. C.M. Habibullah, Director, Deccan College of Medical Sciences, AP

Plus 10 others.

Shahabuddin's Letter to Ministry of External Affairs, 5 May, 1999

I am glad to know that you propose to review the institution for Haj 2000. But I request you not to abolish it but relate it to the Batching System, which I have proposing for years. For each plane load of pilgrims, say 400, there should be one Khadim, chosen from among themselves who should be paid a small honorarium to act as the liaison between the CGI and the pilgrims in the batch during the stay in Saudi Arabia.

This model requires composition of batches on the basis of proximity i.e. on the basis of one district or more than one contiguous districts immediately after receipt of application. I think since the data is computerised, there should be no difficulty.

This model also requires that each batch (say No. AB of State C) should be accommodated in one building or nearby buildings by the CGI.

The utility of the model would be enhanced if for each batch there is a para-medical team of 2, consisting of one male and one female nurse-cum-compouder. They should be from the same linguistic group as the pilgrims and be accommodated with the Batch. This team would maintain liaison with our nearest Haj Dispensary and through the Haj Dispensary with the Indian Medical Mission. This team should travel to and back from Saudi Arabia with the Batch.

The Khadim of the Batch should have the particulars of all the pilgrims in his charge. Each pilgrim of the Batch should know who the Khadim is and what he is supposed to do for them. The selection of the Khadim should be done by the State Haj Committee only after the Batches are formed and the selection should be approved by the Central Haj Committee and the Ministry of External Affairs and intimated to the CGI, Jeddah.

I may add that 400 pilgrims will on an average mean 80-100 families and therefore, it would not be difficult for the Khadim to maintain constant contact with 80-100 persons only.