Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has decided to allow 79,237 people from India, to perform Haj this year.
According to the details obtained from sources at the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, the provisional Haj quota to each country, including India, for the year 2022, was issued on Thursday.
“Indonesia receives the largest share followed by Pakistan and India”, the Ministry said.
The ministry has allotted a quota of 100,051 for Indonesia while Pakistan got the second largest number with 81,132 pilgrims and India came third with 79,237 pilgrims. Bangladesh will send the fourth-largest number of pilgrims with a quota of 57,585.
Nigeria has been allotted 43,008 pilgrims, Afghanistan has been allotted 13,582, and Turkey has been 37,770 pilgrims, this year. UK, USA, and France have been respectively allotted a quota of 12,348, 9,504, and 9,268.
The ministry earlier announced that foreign pilgrims constitute 85 percent of the total one million pilgrims who will be allowed to perform Haj this year. A total of 8,50,000 foreign pilgrims will be allowed to perform Haj while the number of domestic pilgrims’ was restricted at 1,50,000.
This is the first year in which the authorities have allowed the entry of pilgrims from outside the Kingdom since 2019. In 2021 the capacity was limited to 60,000 citizens and residents who received the vaccine, due to the measures that were imposed to curb the pandemic.
This step comes after the lifting of most of the restrictions that were imposed during the pandemic and the return of life in the Kingdom to what it was before 2020.
On April 9, the Kingdom announced that it will allow one million people from all over the world, to perform Haj this year.
The number of pilgrims coming from specific countries for this year’s Haj will be in accordance with the quotas allocated to each country and in consideration of compliance with all health recommendations.
However, those performing Haj must be under 65 years of age and they must have at least two doses of COVID-19 vaccination.
Besides, the pilgrims coming from outside the Kingdom are required to submit a negative COVID-19 PCR test result performed within 72 hours of the time of departure to the Kingdom.
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah stressed the need for pilgrims to adhere to precautionary measures and follow preventive instructions while performing their rituals in order to preserve their health and safety.
As per media reports, the Haj Committee of India had received applications from over one lakh pilgrims. Now, since the country has been allotted a quota of 79,237 pilgrims, the final list will be prepared with the help of a draw (lottery also called Haj Qurrah).
Haj: One of the five pillars of Islam
Haj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Makkah, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the five pillars of Islam. The other four pillars are Shahadah, Salat, Zakat, and Sawm.
It is mandatory for Muslims to perform the pilgrimage once in a lifetime if they are physically and financially capable of it.
