Hajj: An Indian Experience in History

Dr Ausaf Sayeed
The region of Hijaz is a repository of rich Islamic heritage and siteof Islams to holiest cities !!
"a##ah Al!"u#arramah and"adinah Al!"unnaara$ Al!Hijaz is a itness to many religiousand
politically significant e%ents in the history of Islam and is&thus& an o'ject of great fascination for
"uslims all o%er the orld&including those from India$ The prominence of the (eddah )ort& as the
*ateay to "a##ahand as the leading port for maritime trade through the +ed Sea& attracted
merchants and pilgrims ali#e in large num'ers e%ery year$ The people of Hijaz ere also
fascinated 'y Indias spices&pearls& precious stones& sil#& sandalood& oudh and perfumes
andloo#ed forard to the arri%al of Indian ships$ The earliest %isit 'y Indians to "a##ah for Hajj
pilgrimage is a matter of conjecture 'ut it is %ery li#ely that such %isits pre!date the "uslim
con,uests of Sindh -../!012 AD3$During "ughal times and until the eighteenth century&
pilgrimsfrom India had the option of tra%elling to "a##ah either 'yo%erland cara%ans or 'y
sailing ships$ The Indian pilgrimschoosing to tra%el 'y land route %ia the northest of India had
topass through long& difficult and hazardous terrains& hich alsoin%ol%ed crossing the hostile Shia
territories controlled 'y theSafa%ids$ The Indian pilgrims& most of hom ere Sunnis&preferred to
go 'y the sea routes& primarily through the +ed Sea&and occasionally through the )ersian *ulf$
Hoe%er& rampantpiracy and the strict )ortuguese control o%er the Indian 4cean inthe sixteenth
century made passage through the +ed Sea anonerous tas#$ "ost ships tra%elling from India to
the +ed Sea in the sixteenth century ere forced to carry a )ortuguese cartaz or pass$ In fact the
conditions at one point of time 'ecame so un!conduci%e for Hajj that religious scholars at the
"ughal court e%endeclared pilgrimage to "a##ah as non!'inding under thecircumstances -Al!
5adaoni& as ,uoted in Ain!i A#'ari3$
The "ughal rulers had patronised the Hajj and sent se%eral shipsto underta#e the %oyage&
pro%iding free passage and pro%isions for the pilgrims$ 4n their part the 4ttoman 6aliphs& ho
had assumed the title of 76ustodians of the Holy )laces& spent large sums in pro%iding and
protecting the %ast cara%ans that %isited Hijaz from different countries li#e Syria and Egypt$ The
ancient port of Surat in *ujarat& hich as descri'ed %ariously as 5a'!ul!"ecca or the 5andar!e!
"u'ara# -'lessed port3& as one of the leading ports of em'ar#ation for the Indian pilgrims
during the "ughal times$ +ulers of the 5engal& 5ijapur and *olconda also used %arious other
Deccan ports on the east and the est coasts for Hajj sailings -"$8 )earson& 199/3$
A#'ar as the first ruler to organise Hajj pilgrimage at stateexpense and pro%ide su'sidy to
pilgrims$ He also founded ahospice for pilgrims in "a##ah -Suraiya :aro,ui& 199/3$ After
1;0;hen a treaty as signed ith the )ortuguese to allo safepassage of pilgrim ships in the
+ed Sea& A#'ar ordered that acara%an 'e sent from Hindustan e%ery season li#e the cara%ans of
Egypt and Syria$ He appointed a senior no'le as a "ir Hajj -leader of the pilgrims3 and also
directed a top no'le of his court A'dur +ahim <han!i!<hanan to set aside three of his on ships
the +ahimi& the <arimi and the Salari for the free transportation of pilgrims to (eddah$ The
contemporary tra%eller (ohn :ryer <eane -Hajji "ohammed Amin3 mentions that these pilgrim
ships eighed 'eteen 1/== to 1.== tons and often carried 10== pilgrims each$
Support to Hajj pilgrimage continued to a lesser degree during thereigns of (ahangir and Shah
(ahan& the later as #non to 'ein%ol%ed in sending regular charity to "ecca and appointing "ir
Hajj for the pilgrimage$ 4ne particular incident of great historical significance as the capture of
the ship +ahimi oned 'y"aryam!uz!>amani -(odha 5ai3& the mother of "ughal Emperor
(ahangir& in 1.1? AD 'y the )ortuguese despite ha%ing their cartaz$
+ahimi as 'elie%ed to 'e the largest %essel of any #ind sailing in the Indian seas during its time$
It had an estimated capacity in the range of 1;== tonnes ith a room for carrying 1;==
passengers$ It as #non in Europe as @the great pilgrimage shipA$ The "ughals& ho had
depended on the )ortuguese to escort their annual pilgrim %oyages across the Ara'ian Sea to
"a##ah& regarded the capture of the royal ship as an affront to the "ughal Empire and a
deli'erate act of religious persecution 'y the )ortuguese$ The incident led to the softening of the
"ughal stand o%er the 5ritish& ho had 'een ma#ing %ain attempts since 1.=B AD to gain the
"ughal fa%our& hich pro%ided ground for the ultimate grant of royal permission to the 5ritish
East India 6ompany for esta'lishing itself in India$ Aurangaze'& ho enjoyed the reputation for
'eing the most pious and orthodox among the "ughal emperors& as particularly la%ish in his
patronage of the Hajj$ E%ery year to royal ships of Aurangaze' tra%elled to the +ed Sea carrying
lords and ladies of Hindustan& fa#irs and pilgrims$ ($5$ Ta%ernier o'ser%ed that these ships carried
passengers free of charge$ Se%eral omen from the Emperors harem and many of his no'les sent
regular charity to"a##ah$ Aurangaze's daughter >e'unnissa also extended her support to Hajj$
She sponsored the Hajj pilgrimage of a scholar Safi 'in CaliAl!Daz%ini as a reard for authoring
a tafseer of the Holy Duran 'y the name >e' ut!Tafsir$ Safi Al!Daz%ini set sail for the pilgrimage
on 'oard the ship Salamat +as on 1;
th
Shaal 1=B0AH -1.0. AD3 and arri%ed in "a##ah on ?
rd
Dhul!Hijja$ Daz%inigi%es a detailed account of his %oyage in his or#
Anis Al!Hajj&hich is an important treatise on the history of Hajj and ispreser%ed at the )rince of
Eales "useum in "um'ai -Sadashi%*ora#sh#ar& 19B?3$During the "ughal times& people ere
sent on Hajj for %arious reasons: religious o'ligation& religious studies& and reard forgood
ser%ices and punishment for failures$ Hajj as also used asan effecti%e instrument for sending
potential challengers andad%ersaries on political exile$ Sometimes e%en the threat of sending a
person on Hajj used to ha%e salutary effect on errantno'les and scholars$ Humayun is #non to
ha%e 'linded his'rother and sent him off on Hajj in 1;;? AD& ho did Hajj fourtimes and died in
"a##ah in 1;;0 AD$ A#'ar once 'ecame exasperated ith the o%er!'earing 'eha%iour of his
mentor5airam <han and ordered him to proceed on Hajj$ 5airam leftDelhi and proceeded
toards *ujarat& 'ut as #illed inAhmeda'ad 'y an Afghan 'efore he could em'ar# for Hajj$
(ahangir 'anished his )ersian doctor Ha#im Sadra to "a##ah fornot gi%ing him proper treatment
hen he fell ill$ An importantDazi under Aurangaze'& Dazi ul!Duzzat& ho ha'itually
clashedith the Emperor& as as#ed to resign and go for Hajj$ Hijaz&thus& 'ecame a fa%ourite
a'ode for defeated no'les& re'els andaspirants to throne$ The Sherifs of "a##ah ere the
recipients of su'stantial "ughal largesse$ During 9B/!9B9 AH -1;0.!1;B2 AD3 the A#'ars
"ir Hajj carried more than +s .==&=== in money and goods to 'e distri'uted to the people of
"a##ah and "adinah& along iththousands of #hilats -ro'es of honour3 and expensi%e gifts for
theSherifs of "a##ah$ In 1.;9 AD Aurangaze' sent presents orth +s..=&=== to the Sherif of
"a##ah$ The "ughals percei%ed that thefinancial assistance rendered to the Sherifs ould 'ring
goodillfor the Indian pilgrims and fa%ours& hen needed& for the imperialcourt& li#e #eeping an
eye on disgruntled elements see#ing refugein "a##ah and sometimes e%en harassing them$
:re,uently& theSherifs of "a##ah also used to send his agents to the Delhi courtto extract 'enign
fa%ours from the "ughal emperor$Interestingly& despite ha%ing huge resources and means& none
of the "uslim male rulers& 'e it the most poerful "ughal emperors&or the pro%incial rulers of
5engal& 5ijapur& *ujarat or *olconda& orthe 8izams of Hydera'ad& or the smallest of chieftains&
e%er underta#e a %oyage for performing Hajj$ Instead& the commontrend as to send royal
omen on Hajj and trading missions$4ne of the first "ughal royal ladies to perform the Hajj as
5ega5egam or Hajji 5egam& ife of a no'le of Humayun ho later'ecame Humayuns ife$
*ul'adan 5egam& daughter of 5a'arand A#'ars aunt& as one of the most important among the
elite"ughal omen to perform the Hajj in 1;0. AD$ She& accompanied'y Salima Sultan 5egam&
ido of 5airam <han and ife of A#'arand nearly forty other ladies and a large num'er of
ser%ants&sailed on 'oard the ship Salimi& accompanied 'y the royal officialsin the ship Ilahi$ She
arri%ed in "a##ah after an ad%enturous%oyage and stayed there until 1;B2 AD and performed
Hajj fourtimes and Fmrah& the lesser pilgrimage& se%eral times$4ther interesting episodes relate
to the %isit of 5egums of 5hopalto "a##ah& first 'y Si#andar 5egum in 8o%em'er 1B.?
ADfolloed 'y Sultan (ahan 5egum in 19=?$ In particular& Si#andar5egum stands out as the first
ruling head of state& male orfemale& to perform Hajj$ She tra%elled ith a retinue of 1;== 'yroad&
rail and then 'y sea in three specially chartered ships toreach (eddah in (anuary 1B./ AD$ She
as accompanied 'y hermother and former ,ueen Dudsia 5egum& ho indulged inshoering
currency notes from her carriage during the entire journey and as unduly hounded 'y a sarm
of 'eggars$ 4narri%al at "a##ah& the 5egums inad%ertently got in%ol%ed in aprotocol 'reach
hen they left un!tasted the ;= royal dishes of Ara'ic food sent 'y the Sherif of "a##ah$
Seriousmisunderstandings ere cleared later hen the 5egumsreluctantly partoo# from the fresh
set of +oyal dishes sent 'y theSherif -Shaharyar "$<han& 2==/3$8early four decades later&
5egum Sultan (ahan em'ar#ed on thesame journey ith a retinue of ?== people on 'oard the ship
G SS A#'ar& and as recei%ed upon arri%al 'y the 5ritish Cice 6onsul&ho as an Indian
"uslim& and representati%es of the Tur#ish*o%ernor and the Sherif of "a##ah$ Hi#e the earlier
%isit of hermother& her %isit also started off 'adly& hen the Sherif of "a##ah& Aun!ur!+afi, 5in
A'dullah 5in Aun froned at the nazrana -ritual gifts3 'rought 'y her$ She decided to go to
"adinah first 'y sailing to Ian'u and thereafter in a cara%anescorted 'y 2== Tur#ish soldiers&
ho 'ra%ed se%eral onslaughts'y ma%eric# 5edouins$ She got some solace after reaching
"adinah as the *o%ernor of "adinah had made special arrangements for her and half the mos,ue
as partitioned for herand closed to men$ She finally returned 'ac# to India in 19=/$In the
nineteenth and early tentieth centuries& se%eral %isits 'y noteorthy persons from India for Hajj
pilgrimage ere recorded$8aa' <al'e Ali <han& the 8aa' of +ampur performed Hajj in1B02
AD and 'rought a good num'er of rare manuscripts& including the uni,ue 0th century parchment
manuscript of Duran attri'uted to Hazrat Ali$ The legendary Frdu poet Dagh Dehla%i
accompanied the 8aa' on the Hajj$ "any noted literary figuresand religious scholars also
performed Hajj including Syed Ahmadof +ae 5areili -1B2/3& ho is credited ith introducing
Eaha'ism to India& the poet Shefta -1B/23& "aulana Siddi, Hassan <han 5hopali -1B023& noted
riter *$"$"unshi -1B0.3& "aulana "ashu, Ali -19=93 and A'dul "ajeed Darya'adi -19293$
Syed :azal!ul!Hasan -"aulana Hasrat "ohani3& a leading mem'er of the (amiat!ul!Flema!i!
Hind& performed Hajj thirteen times$ Among theleading personalities from India ho performed
Hajj in the post!Independence period& mention may 'e made of the legendarysinger 5egum
A#htar& "aulana "ohammad Taei' -Head&Daruloom Deo'and3& Dr A'id Hussain& )rince 5asalat
(ah of Hydera'ad& painter "$:$Hussain& play'ac# singer "ohammad +afi&Syed A'dur +ahman
5afa#ih Thangal and Ha#eem A'dul Hameed$Fnder the 5ritish India& Hajj continued to get
attention$ In 1BB;&the 5ritish go%ernment appointed the famous tourist agency Thomas 6oo# and
Son as the official tra%el agent of the Hajj andere gi%en the responsi'ility of streamlining the
pilgrimage trade$ Thomas 6oo# agents ere as#ed to coordinate rail transportation&shipping&
passports& medical pro%isions and tic#eting procedures$ The 5ritish go%ernment affirmed that it
as under specialo'ligation to protect the stream of "uhammadan pilgrims ho resort to the
sacred places at "ecca and <ar'ala -Imperial*azette& C$/ p$111& 19=93$ In 1920& a 1=!mem'er
Hajj 6ommittee as constituted headed 'y D$ Healy& Es,$& 6ommissioner of )olice& 5om'ay$
6onse,uent upon the passing of the )ort Hajj6ommittee Act in 19?2& a )ort Hajj 6ommittee as
constituted hich rendered its ser%ices to the pilgrims until 19;9& hen a necommittee as
formed folloing the promulgation of the Hajj6ommittee Act of 19;9$During the Second Eorld
Ear pilgrims continued to ma#e the journey to "a##ah& 'ut they did so in smaller num'ers and
under difficult conditions$ Initially in 19?9& the "ar,uess of Hinlithgo&IndiaJs Ciceroy& tried to
dissuade Indian "uslims from going forHajj citing the reasons of security as ell as shortage of
ships$ The "uslims 'ecame indignant and started mounting pressure onthe go%ernment& hich
ultimately relented and the pilgrims eregi%en permission to go for Hajj$ The *o%ernment of
India alsomade special efforts to secure shipping and to su'sidize costs$ In19/1& the Saudi
go%ernment ent so far as to ad%ance money to mutaifin so that they could tra%el to India and
can%ass forpilgrims$ In 19;9& the +eser%e 5an# of India issued to special 7Hajj notesfor Hajj
pilgrims in the denominations of +s 1= and +s 1== andhad the ord HA incri'ed on the o'%erse$
The Serial 8um'er of the notes as prefixed ith the letters JHAJ$ These notes ere notlegal
tender in India& 'ut could 'e con%erted at 5om'ay intoIndian rupees or into pounds sterling under
agreements in placeith the Saudi Ara'ian 'an#s$ These special Hajj notes ere firstissued to
Hajj pilgrims on ? "ay 19;9 at the "ohamed Hajji Sa'ooSiddic# "usafir#hana in 5om'ay$ The
amount of money permittedto 'e carried 'y pilgrims on their journey to Saudi Ara'ia
%arieddepending on their mode of tra%el$ In 19;9 Hajj pilgrims tra%elling'y 'oat ere permitted
to carry 1&2== rupees if tra%elling Jdec#classJ and 1&B== rupees if tra%elling Jfirst classJ$ )ilgrims
tra%elling'y air could ta#e 1&0== rupees$
An interesting aspect of the Hajj in 19;=s and 19.=s as that&unli#e the present& the choice of
selecting the "oallims or "utaifs remained ith the pilgrims$ "oallims used to tra%el
to%arious destinations in India for can%assing and 'oo#ing thepilgrims$ )ilgrims from different
regions preferred different"oallims$ :or example& "utaif :aroo, Saifuddin as preferred'y
pilgrims from Andhra )radesh hile Ahmed Shei#h (amalullailas preferred 'y pilgrims from
5ihar and Fttar )radesh$ There as a Shai#!ul "oallimeen& ho super%ised the or# of
"oallimsas the institution of "oassasa did not exist$During the 19.=s and until the mid!0=s& the
Saudi go%ernmentutilised the ser%ices of scouts from all o%er the orld during Hajjand an annual
Islamic Scout (am'oree as held at "a##ah inhich contingents of Indian "uslim scouts
regularly participatedfor se%eral years$ )ri%ate contingent of Indian scouts& headed 'ylate
<$)$Hasan A'dullah of <erala consisting of "uslim orphansalso participated in such acti%ities$
The largest shipping line operating from the Indian ports as the"ogul Hine& hich as founded
in 1BBB and managed 'y the5ritish agency house Turner "orrison$ The oldest of the "ogulHine
ship as SS Alai -'uilt 192/3 folloed 'y SS +izani -'uilt19?=3$ These ships ere scrapped
in 19;B and 19;9 respecti%ely$4ther early "ogul Hine ships ere SS Saudi -capacity 9993&
SS"uhammadi and SS "uzaffari -capacity 1/.=3& SS Islami -capacity 12==3& "C A#'ar
-capacity 1.==3& SS 8oorjehan -capacity 10;.3 and SS 8ico'ar -capacity 110=3$ After its
nationalisation in 19.2& the control of the "ogul Hine passed on to the Shipping 6orporation of
India -S6I3 and finally in 19B0 it merged ith S6I$Heading Saudi company Hajji A'dullah Ali
+eza K 6o$ Htd$ ereagents of "ogul Hine in (eddah and the septuagenarian Indian expatriate
+afiuddin S$:azul'hoy as its Assistant *eneral"anager$In 1920 "ogul Hine ships carried
nearly 2=&=== of the ?.&===Hajjis arri%ing from Indian har'ours$ In the late 19?=s& o%er 0=per
cent of pilgrim ships from India ere "ogul Hine %essels$ An interesting statistical study
pu'lished 'y the Saudi "inistry of Interior in 19.9 indicated that o%er a period of 1= years
from19;B to 19.B& a total of 2==&1== pilgrims came from India for Hajj$India& thus& ran#ed third
in the num'er of pilgrims sent for theHajj in this decade and came only after Iemen and the
FnitedAra' +epu'lic -FA+3& hich sent ?21&2.B and 2?2&=0= pilgrimsrespecti%ely$ Throughout
the 19.=s& a'out 1/&;== Indian Hajjis used to come'y sea and another 1=== used to tra%el 'y Air
India charteredflights$ The chartering of flights as done 'y the Hajj 6ommitteethrough the
airline company Trade Eings$ 5oth air and seaoperations ere carried out from only one
em'ar#ation point i$e$5om'ay$ The round!trip ship fare used to 'e +s 1=== for first classand +s
;== for dec# class$ The num'er of pilgrims coming 'y seastarted decreasing gradually and 'y
199/ it fell to /0==$ :inally in199;& the sea %oyage as completely stopped and all
Indianpilgrims started arri%ing only 'y air$ The num'er of Indian pilgrims ho%ered around 0=&===
during theperiod 2===!2==/$ During the last three years& the num'er of Indian pilgrims increased
'y ?B&===& reaching 1;0&=== in 1/20 H-2==.3& hich as the second highest after Indonesia$ The
*regorian year 2==. as uni,ue& as it itnessed Hajj totimes in a single calendar year& a rare
phenomenon hich too#place earlier in 190/$ This as also the year hen the Indian Hajj
"ission as conferred ith E8 IS4 9==1!2=== certification for 'est management practises in
Hajj& the first 'y any Hajj "ission of any country$
-Dr Ausaf Sayeed is the Am'assador of India in Iemen$
He is authoring a 'oo# Hajj: An Indian Experience in the 2=
th
6entury3