The Uttarakhand administration has incurred the displeasure of a sizeable section of the Muslim community over issues related to the Haj pilgrimage. Community leaders are peeved over the ‘errors’ in a guidebook provided by the state government to those undertaking Haj. Chief Minister B C Khanduri released the guidebook containing various directions and travel guidelines with much fanfare last month at a camp for the Haj pilgrims in Dehradun.

“We do not doubt the intention of the government but there are glaring errors in the guidebook named Uttarakhand Rahnumaye Haj. As many as sixty directions written in the book are not in compliance with the Shariat. The Mufti at Dar-ul-Ifta Salim Ahmed has already written to Khanduri about it,” said community leader Latafat Hussain. He said that such books should be printed in due consultation with the senior scholars of the community.

The Muslims are also peeved at the failure of the Uttarakhand government to get the quota of Haj pilgrims from the state increased. “Despite the fact that the Centre has increased the quota of Haj pilgrims from India, the state Government has failed to make any addition to the existing number of people undertaking Haj from the state. Instead people have been selectively sent over and above the existing quota of 789 persons in a special VIP quota and money has changed hands in giving this special preference to the people,” he alleged while targeting the Chairman of the State Haj Committee Shamim Alam. Alam was not available for comment.

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