Training session for Haj pilgrims begins
With the annual Haj to the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina set to be held between June 14 and 19 approximately, community groups and government organisations that facilitate the pilgrimage have started training those who have been selected for the journey.
The pilgrimage is one of the obligatory duties of a Muslim and this year, 1.75 lakh will undertake the journey from India, a majority of whom will be first-time air travelers with no knowledge of immigration procedures. Community groups are stepping in to prepare the pilgrims for the trip, which will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most. According to those who are following the progress, there have been communications between the Indian and Saudi Arabian governments on the possibility of increasing the quota community groups in Mumbai want the quota of 2.25 lakh.
Trainers from the Haj Committee of India and the Maharashtra State Haj Committees, started a three-day workshop from Friday in central Mumbai. The Sunni Dawate Islami, a community group, will be holding similar camps. At these workshops, pilgrims learn about the dos and don’ts of international travel. They are informed about items prohibited in the luggage, documents needed for travel, immigration procedures, and travel etiquette.
“Between 80 to 90% of them are travelling abroad for the first time. In case of those travelling through the Haj Committees, this percentage is higher. Many of them are senior citizens who may not be familiar with immigration procedures,” saidShams Chowdhury of the Haj Pilgrims Social Welfare Group, which organises such
workshops.
“Besides the pilgrims are also India’s ambassadors and how they conduct the journey has a bearing on the country’s image,” Shams said, adding that pilgrims from Indonesia, which is the country with the largest Muslim population in the world sends the biggest contingent of pilgrims, are reputed to the best behaved because of the training they receive before they embark on the journey.
Pilgrims are taught about crowd behaviour at choke points and not to shout at immigration officials and fellow travellers. Many of them also get advice on how to use toilet facilities on the aircraft and at the pilgrimage sites.