Haj

98 Indians died during annual Muslim pilgrimage of Hajj to Mecca: MEA

Ninety-eight Indians have died during the annual Muslim pilgrimage of Haj to Mecca, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said total deaths of Indians in the entire Haj period last year were 187. "This year, 1,75000 Indian pilgrims visited Mecca for Haj. The Haj period is from May 9 to July 22. This year, till now, 98 deaths have been reported," he said. "The deaths have been due to natural causes, chronic illnesses, and old age. Six people died on the day of Arafat and four were accident-related deaths," Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing. The MEA spokesperson was responding to a question on the deaths of Indians during Haj.

Updated On : 21 Jun 2024 | 10:04 PM IST

4,000 Indian women performed Haj this year without 'mehram', says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said over 4,000 Muslim women performing Haj this year without 'mehram' was a "huge transformation" and asserted that more and more people were getting the chance to go for the annual pilgrimage with the changes made by his government in the Haj policy over the past few years. Over 4,000 Indian women performed Haj without 'mehram' this year, the largest since the reform in 2018 which did away with the compulsion of a male companion with women on the pilgrimage. In his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast, Modi said he has received a large number of letters this time from Muslim women who have recently returned from the Haj pilgrimage. "This journey of theirs is very special in many ways. These are the women who performed Haj without any male companion or mehram and the number is not 50 or 100, but more than 4,000 -- this is a huge transformation," the prime minister said. Earlier, Muslim women were not allowed to perform Haj without 'mehram', M

Updated On : 30 Jul 2023 | 2:56 PM IST

Air India Express to start Haj flights from Kannur, Kozhikode on June 4

Air India Express will start operating Haj flights from Kannur and Kozhikode on June 4. In a release on Friday, the airline said the Haj charters will be carried out in two phases. In the first phase, it will operate 44 flights from Kozhikode and 13 flights from Kannur to Jeddah and plans to carry 8,236 Haj pilgrims. In the second phase, the carrier will operate 44 flights from Medina to Kozhikode and 13 flights from Medina to Kannur. "This is the first time the airline is operating Haj services after winning the government-released bid for the two cities in Kerala," the release said. According to the release, the airline has introduced colour-coded pouches for elderly pilgrims to carry their boarding passes and brightly coloured luggage tags for easier identification and to prevent baggage mishandling. The airline will transport Zam Zam water on the return ferry flights and keep it at Kozhikode and Kannur airports. Upon arrival, each pilgrim will be offered a 5-litre can of Zam Z

Updated On : 02 Jun 2023 | 8:54 PM IST

Air India, Air India Express to operate special Haj flights from 4 cities

Air India and Air India Express will operate special Haj flights from Jaipur, Chennai, Kozhikode and Kannur, carrying around 19,000 pilgrims. The two carriers will fly close to 19,000 pilgrims to Jeddah and Medina in Saudi Arabia from the four cities. Air India, in the first phase, will operate 46 flights from Jaipur and Chennai to Medina and Jeddah, respectively. The first flight was operated from Jaipur on May 21 and the services will go on till June 21, according to a release on Monday. In the second phase, Air India will bring back the pilgrims to Jaipur and Chennai by operating 43 flights from July 3 to August 2. "The number of pilgrims scheduled to fly with Air India from Jaipur is 5,871 on 27 flights while 4,447 pilgrims will be flown by it from Chennai on 19 flights," the release said. Air India Express will operate flights from Kozhikode and Kannur from June 4 to 22. It will operate 44 flights from Kozhikode to Jeddah - carrying 6,363 passengers and 13 flights between Ka

Updated On : 22 May 2023 | 5:07 PM IST

4,314 Indian women set to perform Haj without male companion this year

As many as 4,314 Indian women are set to perform Haj without 'Mehram (male companion)' this year, the largest since the reform in 2018 which did away with the compulsion of a male companion with women on the pilgrimage, officials said. In a first, the Minority Affairs Ministry has also made comprehensive arrangements for the health of the Haj pilgrims with health desks at airports and medical screening by government doctors. With a view to ensure quality health support to pilgrims, the Ministry of Minority Affairs is collaborating with the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare for comprehensive health arrangements for pilgrims planning to visit Mecca. Each year, Saudi Arabia hosts around 25 lakh to 30 lakh pilgrims from across the globe to visit Mecca and India sends the third largest contingent of pilgrims in the world. Such large number of pilgrims also poses unique public health challenges, and the medical requirements of the pilgrims in Mecca, Madina, and Jeddah must be ...