Delhi High Court: “Union should fund pilgrims of all faiths”
(Wed. 06 Dec.2006):- In India, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday, Dec. 5 called on
the government of the Union to supply financial subsidies to pilgrims of all religions,
like those it has been giving to members of the Muslim community going for the annual
pilgrimage to Mecca. The decision was handed down in response to the public petition
presented by Ashwani Gupta, a Hindu, who reminded the judges of Articles 14,15 and
16 of the Indian Constitution. These articles stipulate that the state cannot give
benefits to one particular religion and ignore the others. Gupta said: “The Hindu
community also has popular places of pilgrimage like Amarnath and Mansarovar, as do
the Sikhs who look to Guru Nanek, the Buddhists who desire to visit Sarnath and Catholics
who want to go to Rome”.The petition said: “Providing subsidy to Muslims is politically
motivated, as it is aimed at buying their votes, while several Muslim countries do
not grant subsidies to the ritual pilgrimage to Mecca”. The government, to meet the
demand of thousands of pilgrims who ask to undertake the Haj every year, allocates
more than three billion rupees, that is, around 50 million euros. John Dayal, president
of the All India Catholic Union, welcomed the court ruling. He told AsiaNews: “I hope
the government will use this opportunity to dispel the myth about policies to appease
Muslims. It is obvious that if the Union has any preferential policies, they are
applied to Hindus as well.”