History
The City of Bombay has a very long association with Haj. Muslims have been proceeding for Haj through Sea Route during British Rule and earlier, starting their holy journey from the Sea-Port of Bombay. The records available indicate the existence of the Haj Committee, Bombay in the year 1927. The then Commissioner of Police Mr. D. Healy, Esq., was the President of Haj Committee, Bombay and prominent Muslim Public Representatives were the Members. The first formal meeting of Haj Committee, Bombay was held on 14th April, 1927, in which the following were present:-
PORT HAJ COMMITTEE ACT 1932
Section 4 (1) :
The Port Haj Committee of Calcutta shall consist of nineteen members as follows :
- seven members to be nominated by the Central Government of whom not more than five shall be officials;
- two members to be elected by the elected Muslim Councillors and elected Muslim Aldermen of the Corporation of Calcutta;
- six members to be elected by an electorate consisting of –
- the elected Muslim members of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly.
- the Muslim members of the Central Legislature, elected for, or for any part of West Bengal, and
- the elected Muslim members of the West Bengal Medical Council; and
- four members to be co-opted by the elected members of the Committee.
Section 4 (2) :
The Port Haj Committee of Bombay shall consist of nineteen members as follows:
- seven members to be nominated by the Central Government, of whom not more than five shall be officials;
- two members to be elected by the elected Muslim members of the Municipal Corporation of the city of Bombay;
- six members to be elected by an electorate consisting of:-
- the elected Muslim members of the Houses of the Bombay Legislature,
- the Muslim members of Parliament, elected for, or for any part of, Bombay and
- the elected Muslim members of the Bombay Medical Council; and
- four members to be co-opted by the elected members of the Committee.
The Port Haj Committee of Bombay continued to work under the Presidentship of Commissioner of Police, Bombay till April, 1939. On 4th April, 1939 Mrs. Khadija Shuffi Tyabji was elected President of the Port Haj Committee, Bombay.
The Port Haj Committee, Bombay rendered necessary services to the Pilgrims proceeding for Haj till 1959. On 17th December, 1959, the Haj Committee Act of 1959 (No.51 of 1959), was passed, to establish a Committee in the Port of Bombay for assisting Muslim Pilgrims to Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Iran & Jordan and for matters connected therewith. The Act envisaged constitution of Haj Committee (India) with the following composition:-
HAJ COMMITTEE ACT 1959
Section 4 (1) :
The Committee shall consist of the following members, namely:-
- the Collector of Customs, Bombay, ex-officio;
- the Chairman, Port Trust, Bombay, ex-officio;
- the Principal Officer, Mercantile Marine Department, Bombay, ex-officio;
- the Commissioner of Police for Greater Bombay, ex-officio;
- the Municipal Commissioner, Greater Bombay, ex-officio;
- the Port Health Officer, Bombay, ex-officio;
- two members to be nominated by the Central Government;
- three members of Parliament of whom two are to be nominated by the Speaker of the House of the People from among its members and one by the Chairman of the Council of States from among its members;
- one members to represent the State Government of Bombay to be nominated by the Government;
- two members of the Bombay State Legislative Assembly to be nominated by the Speaker of that Assembly;
- two members of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Bombay to be nominated by the State Government of Bombay on the recommendation of the Muslim members of the Municipal members of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Bombay;
- three members, of whom two shall be shia Muslims, to be co-opted by all the members of the Committee to represent such interests as, in their opinion, are directly and actively interested in the welfare of the Pilgrims.
Mr. Mustafa Fakih was elected the first Chairman of Haj Committee constituted under the Haj Committee Act 1959.
As a global phenomenon the passenger travel by ships declined. People started travelling by air. Air travel was introduced gradually for Haj Pilgrims also. Till the year 1994 around 5,000 Pilgrims used to travel by Ship from the Sea Port of Bombay for performing Haj and about 19,000 Pilgrims used to travel by Air. However, from the year 1995 travelling of Haj Pilgrims by Sea-Route was fully discarded and all the Pilgrims travelled for Haj through Air.
After introduction of air travel, it was no more necessary for all the Haj Pilgrims to reach Bombay. Gradually other Embarkation Points were introduced. The number of Embarkation Points went on increasing year after year. During Haj 1430 (H) – 2009 (A.D.), there were seventeen (19) Embarkation Points from which the Pilgrims travelled. The details of the Embarkation Points is as under:-
| Sr. No. | Name of Embarkation Point | Embarkation Started w.e.f. |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mumbai | Prior to1983 |
| 2. | Delhi | 1983 |
| 3. | Chennai | 1987 |
| 4. | Kolkatta | 1988 |
| 5. | Bangalore | 1986 |
| 6. | Calicut | 2000 |
| 7. | Ahmedabad | 2000 |
| 8. | Hyderabad | 2001 |
| 9. | Lucknow | 2002 |
| 10. | Srinagar | 2002 |
| 11. | Nagpur | 2003 |
| 12. | Gaya / Patna | 2003 /2005 |
| 13 | Jaipur | 2004 |
| 14 | Guwahati | 2005 |
| 15 | Aurangabad | 2005 |
| 16 | Varanasi | 2007 |
| 17 | Indore | 2008 |
| 18 | Ranchi | 2009 |
| 19 | Mangalore | 2009 |
| 20 | Bhopal | 2010 |
| 21 | Goa | 2010 |
With the introduction of more & more Embarkation Points, the management of Haj also diversified. It was felt necessary to have appropriate representation from all parts of the country in the Haj Committee of India. Accordingly, Haj Committee Act 2002 (No.35 of 2002) has been passed. It envisages representation in the Haj Committee of India from all parts of the country. The composition of Haj Committee of India as per Haj Committee Act 2002 is as under:-
HAJ COMMITTEE ACT - 2002
Section 4:
The Committee shall consist of the following members, namely:-
- three members of Parliament of whom two are to be nominated by the Speaker of the House of the People from among its Muslim members, and one by the Chairman of the Council of States from among its Muslim members:
- Provided that a member of Parliaent shall, upon ceasing to be a member, cease to be a member of the Committee and the Speaker of the House of the People or the Chairman of the Council of States, as the case may be, shall make a fresh nomination upon request by the Central Government;
- nine Muslim members of the Committee shall be elected, three from those States sending largest number of Pilgrims during last three years and one each from the zones as specified in the Schedule, in such manner as may be prescribed;
- Provided that not more than one member shall be elected from a State falling in the zone as specified in the Schedule;
- four persons not below the rank of Joint Secretary to the Government of India nominated by that Government to represent the Ministries of External Affairs, Home, Finance and Civil Aviation, as ex-officio members;
- seven Muslim members shall be nominated by the Central Government from among the following categories of persons, namely:-(a) two members who have special knowledge of public administration, finance, education, culture or social work and out of whom one shall be a Shia Muslim;
- two women members, out of whom one shall be Shia Muslim;
- three members who have special knowledge of Muslim theology and law, out of them one shall be a Shia Muslim.
The Schedule Indicating The Zones
Section 4 (ii):
The Committee shall consist of the following members, namely:-