<div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail-td-post-header"><header class="gmail-td-post-title">
<h1 class="entry-title">Modi govt makes U-turn on Haj policy for disabled, is accused of being discriminatory</h1>
<div class="gmail-td-module-meta-info">
<a href="https://theprint.in/author/sanya-dhingra/" title="Posts by Sanya Dhingra" class="gmail-author gmail-url gmail-fn" rel="author">Sanya Dhingra</a> <span class="gmail-td-post-date gmail-td-post-date-no-dot"><time class="entry-date gmail-updated gmail-td-module-date" datetime="2018-04-12T14:40:43+00:00">12 April, 2018</time></span> </div>
</header>
</div>
<div class="gmail-td-post-sharing-top"><div id="gmail-td_uid_1_5ad0b1b4d4880" class="gmail-td-post-sharing gmail-td-ps-bg gmail-td-ps-notext gmail-td-post-sharing-style1"><div class="gmail-td-post-sharing-visible"><a class="gmail-td-social-sharing-button gmail-td-social-sharing-button-js gmail-td-social-network gmail-td-social-facebook" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftheprint.in%2Fgovernance%2Fmodi-govt-makes-u-turn-on-haj-policy-for-disabled-is-accused-of-being-discriminatory%2F49128%2F" style="opacity:1">
<div class="gmail-td-social-but-icon"><i class="gmail-td-icon-facebook"></i></div>
</a><a class="gmail-td-social-sharing-button gmail-td-social-sharing-button-js gmail-td-social-network gmail-td-social-twitter" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Modi+govt+makes+U-turn+on+Haj+policy+for+disabled%2C+is+accused+of+being+discriminatory&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheprint.in%2Fgovernance%2Fmodi-govt-makes-u-turn-on-haj-policy-for-disabled-is-accused-of-being-discriminatory%2F49128%2F&via=ThePrintIndia" style="opacity:1">
<div class="gmail-td-social-but-icon"><i class="gmail-td-icon-twitter"></i></div>
</a><a class="gmail-td-social-sharing-button gmail-td-social-sharing-button-js gmail-td-social-network gmail-td-social-googleplus" href="https://plus.google.com/share?url=https://theprint.in/governance/modi-govt-makes-u-turn-on-haj-policy-for-disabled-is-accused-of-being-discriminatory/49128/" style="opacity:1">
<div class="gmail-td-social-but-icon"><i class="gmail-td-icon-googleplus"></i></div>
</a><a class="gmail-td-social-sharing-button gmail-td-social-sharing-button-js gmail-td-social-network gmail-td-social-linkedin" href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://theprint.in/governance/modi-govt-makes-u-turn-on-haj-policy-for-disabled-is-accused-of-being-discriminatory/49128/&title=Modi govt makes U-turn on Haj policy for disabled, is accused of being discriminatory" style="opacity:1">
<div class="gmail-td-social-but-icon"><i class="gmail-td-icon-linkedin"></i></div>
</a></div></div></div>
<div class="gmail-td-post-content">
<div class="gmail-td-post-featured-image"><figure><img class="entry-thumb gmail-td-animation-stack-type0-1" src="https://64C5F.https.cdn.softlayer.net/8064C5F/theprint.in/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Supplicating_Pilgrim_at_Masjid_Al_Haram._Mecca_Saudi_Arabia-696x522.jpg" alt="A devotee at the Haj Pilgrimage | Wikimedia Commons" title="Latest news on Haj | theprint.in" width="696" height="522"><figcaption class="gmail-wp-caption-text">Representational image | Wikimedia Commons</figcaption></figure></div>
<p><strong>Govt cites ‘instances of many such people indulging
in begging’ in affidavit filed in HC, activists say even Pakistan and
Saudi Arabia don’t have such bans.</strong></p>
<p><strong>New Delhi:</strong> People with disabilities are barred from
performing Haj “in view of instances of many such people indulging in
begging”, the Centre has said in an affidavit filed in the Delhi High
Court, a policy termed as “shocking and derogatory” by activists.</p>
<p>This submission comes months after the minority affairs ministry had
advised the Haj Committee of India (HCoI) to relook at its provisions
with regard to the differently-abled.</p>
<p>“As per prevailing practice for more than 30 years, persons suffering
from physical disabilities or suffering from specified diseases have
been debarred from applying for Haj pilgrimage through HCoI,” the
ministry said in the affidavit filed Wednesday.</p>
<p>The prohibition on the disabled performing Haj is mentioned in the
Haj Policy 2018-2022, which states that “persons who are crippled,
handicapped, lunatic or otherwise physically incapacitated or suffering
from amputation of legs”, will not be eligible to apply for Haj
pilgrimage.</p>
<h3><strong>Government’s U-turn on the issue</strong></h3>
<p>In the face of a backlash from disability groups, the minority
affairs ministry had assured it would take a fresh look at the
controversial provision.</p>
<p>“Minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi had himself assured us
that he will review the unfair provision,” Mohammad Faisal Nawaz, a
polio-affected person and social activist, who had applied for Haj in
2016, told ThePrint.</p>
<p>“We were promised a corrective action. Is this affidavit their
correction?” he asked. “This is in complete violation of RPWD Act
(Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016).”</p>
<p>In a letter dated 2 January 2018, Ravi Chandra, under secretary,
minority affairs ministry, wrote to the HCoI, “Considering the fact that
‘The Rights of Persons and Disabilities Act, 2016’, have come into
force from December, 2016, the Haj Policy and Haj guidelines are
required to be aligned with it.”</p>
<p>“The nomenclatures used in the Haj policy/guidelines are also
required to be in consonance with the terms of the said Act,” the letter
said.</p>
<p>Gaurav Kumar Bansal, who has filed the petition challenging the new
policy in the Delhi HC, on the grounds that is violative of the RPWD Act
and Articles 14, 21 and 25 of the Constitution, too is “shocked” at the
latest government affidavit.</p>
<p>“The government should withdraw it as it insults all Indians,” he
said. “How is this ministry working for the welfare of minorities if
this is what they believe?” he asked.</p>
<p>Naqvi, who had earlier ordered the deletion of the provision, could
not be reached for a comment, even as Muslim groups and activists
expressed their anguish at the new affidavit.</p>
<h3><strong>No such prohibition in other parts of the world</strong></h3>
<p>In the affidavit, the government has written that it was, in fact,
the Consulate General of India (CGI) in Jeddah which advised the
government in 2012 for “strict screening of disabled persons in view of
instances of many such people indulging in begging which is strictly
prohibited in Saudi Arabia”.</p>
<p>However, Saudi Arabia itself places no such ban on the disabled
performing Haj. “Saudi Arabia has, in fact, made special provisions to
make the pilgrimage accessible for the disabled,” argues disability
rights activist Nipun Malhotra.</p>
<p>Incidentally, neighbouring Pakistan too does not have a blanket ban
in this regard. Pakistan’s Haj policy simply states that a medical
fitness certificate attested by a medical officer would be mandatory for
applicants.</p>
<p>This is in stark contrast to the language used in the Indian Haj policy, which Malhotra calls “derogatory and shocking”.</p>
</div>
<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
</div>