Pilgrimage concessions

·         On Feb 21, 2008 Chosphel Zotpa, member of NCM and a Buddhist, shared plans to recommend travel fare concessions for Buddhists, a religious minority in India, during pilgrimages.

·         Zotpa said "Given the economic status of Buddhists, fare concessions for pilgrimages are the need of the hour. We want such concessions only for five places of religious importance for Buddhists-Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Sarnath, Kusinagar and Lumbini"

·         There are around 80 million Buddhists scattered across the country. They are mostly concentrated in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Maharashtra.

·         While the Buddha was born in Lumbini in Nepal, Bodh Gaya in Bihar is where he is said to have attained enlightenment. Sarnath near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh was the place where he first preached his teachings.

·         At present, Muslims going on Haj to Makkah in Saudi Arabia get concessions in air fare.

·         Andhra Pradesh has also announced a subsidy for Christian pilgrims travelling to Israel.

·         A Haji has to pay only Rs.12,000 as air fare compared to over Rs.40,000 for a regular traveller. It is up to the government to decide if such concessions are given to other religious groups too."

·         Mohammad Shafi Qureshi is chairman of NCM