70
expansion work in Masjid al-Haram and the consequent increase in its
capacity, the 2017 quota for the Indian hajis was increased to 170,000
(PTI 2017a) and 175,000 for 2018 (PTI 2018 ).
At the same time, there are many controversies surrounding haj. Given
the importance of the pilgrimage for Muslims, haj has evolved into a
patronage system and in a landmark judgment in October 2011 the
Supreme Court curtailed the number of VIPs going for haj on the govern-
ment quota, which it termed wasteful upon the exchequer and a ‘bad
religious practice.’ Observing that goodwill haj visit which began in 1967
following the Indo-Pakistan war a couple of years earlier, the Court felt
that the patronage system only benefitted politicians and bureaucrats and
hence had to be scrapped (PTI 2011 ). In a subsequent judgment in July
2012, it also set limits on the discretionary quotes exercised by various
state functionaries.^4
For long, Indian hajis were given temporary passports to facilitate their
travel to the Kingdom, but due to concerns over terrorism and human
trafficking, in 2009 Saudi Arabia decided to discontinue this practice and
insisted on regular travel documents. This posed some problems for pil-
grims whose applications were stuck in the system but since then all
Indians going for haj use standard passports issued by the government of
India (India, Rajya Sabha 2013b).
Despite these controversies and drawbacks, haj has been a significant aspect
of the religious bond between the two countries. In addition to the annual
pilgrimages, like their counterparts from other countries, Indian Muslims
also travel to Mecca and Medina throughout the year to perform umrah.
Though not mandatory, this is considered an important religious practice
among the Muslims and is preferred by celebrities whose presence during
the haj would be distracting and challenging in terms of crowd management.
Nearly 300,000 Indians perform umrah every year. If one includes both
these categories, about 450,000 Indians go to Mecca annually. Thus, haj and
umrah have provided a strong impetus to the bilateral relations by facilitating
a continuous flow of Indians to Mecca since the early days of Islam.
radIcalIsm
Of late, religious radicalism among a section of the Indian Muslims has
been magnified due to reports that some citizens have joined the ranks
of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) (Singh 2015 ). Media
(^4) Accordingly, the quota for the President was set at 100 seats; Vice-President and Prime
Minister 75 seats each; and External Affairs Minister 50 seats (India, Rajya Sabha 2015 ).
P. R. KUMARASWAMY AND MD. M. QUAMAR