About:
- The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Kaaba, the ‘House of God’, in the holiest city for Muslims i.e. Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
- It is one of the five pillars of Islam, alongside Shahadah, Salat, Zakat and Sawm.
- It is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking it.
- The rites of Hajj are performed over five or six days, beginning on the eighth and ending on the thirteenth day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar.
Hajj 2018 and 2019: Key Highlights
- The agreement has been signed to ensure safety and better facilities, medical facilities for the pilgrims during Hajj 2019.
- A large number of Muslim women are likely to go to Hajj 2019 without “Mehram” (male companion). In 2017, Govt of India lifted ban on women going to Haj without Mehram, which resulted into about 1300 Indian Muslim women went on Haj 2018 without any male companion.
- For the first time after the Independence, a record number of Muslims from India performed Hajj 2018 and that too without any subsidy. Record 1,75,025 Muslims from India performed Haj 2018 which include about 48 % women.
