The Mecca Pilgrimage : appointment by the Government of India of Thos. Cook and Son as agents for the control of ... pilgrims.

Date:
[1886?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The Mecca Pilgrimage : appointment by the Government of India of Thos. Cook and Son as agents for the control of ... pilgrims. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    6th.—Thos. Cook & Son to appoint all the necessary assistants to carry out the work ; in all cases where necessary to appoint Mahomedans ; to establish a special Pilgrimage Office in the most convenient position in Bombay and, if found necessary, at Jeddah ; and. to prepare all the necessary announcements, forms of tickets, &c. 7th.—Thos. Cook & Son, or their representatives, to comply with the requirements and regulations laid down from time to time by the Government of India, precisely the same as though they were in the service of the Government. To show the spirit in which the Government of India responded to my proposals, I will here give the text of the Resolutions adopted by the Governor-General (Lord Dufferin), in Council. Extract from the proceedings of the Government of Lidia in the Home' Department {Sanitary), under date 4th January, 1886 :— (1) For several years past the attention of the Government of India has from time to time been directed to the desirability of alleviating, so far as is possible, the discomforts and sufferings experienced by Mahomedan pilgrims during the journey from India to the Hedjaz. The existence of these sufferings, more especially in the case of those of the poorer class of Mahomedans who undertake the pilgrimage, is an admitted fact, but the action taken with a view to afford relief has been]necessarily of a restricted nature owing to the unwillingness felt by the Government to undertake any direct interference with what is considered to be a religious obligation by a large section of the Mahomedan community in India. In 1880 intimation was received from her Majesty’s Secretary of State that the Turkish Government had issued orders requiring passports from all passengers and pilgrims arriving in Jeddah, whether Turkish or foreign subjects, and announcing that those who came unprovided with such documents would be liable to be expelled from the ports of the Hedjaz. In order to render these Turkish regulations as little irksome as possible to natives of India proceeding to the Hedjaz on pilgrimage, the Government of India, after consulting Local Governments and Administrations, resolved [Home Department resolution No. 4—198-214, dated 12th July, 1882] to establish a system under which passports should be unconditionally given to every intending pilgrim, not only at the Indian ports of embarkation, but also at the central stations of every district in British India and at the head¬ quarters of all political agencies in Native States. Arrangements were also made to grant informal passes to the subjects of other Governments, e.g., natives of Kashgar, Kussian Turkistan, Afghanistan, &c., who embark for Mecca from Indian ports, it being explained that these passes impose no responsibility on the Government of India in regard to the holders, and that the Governor-General in Council could not in any way guarantee their recognition by the officials of the Turkish or any other foreign Government. Further, in consideration of the very large number of pilgrims who annually embark at and return to Bombay, and to the necessity of making some special arrangements to meet their requirements, a Mahomedan Protector of Pilgrims was appointed at that port and instructed to supply intending pilgrims with all the information and assistance within his power in respect of every matter connected with the pilgrimage. (2) Since the above measures were undertaken, further efforts have been made by the Government of India towards the proper regulation of the Indian pilgrim traffic by amending the provisions of the Native Passenger Ships Act (No. VIII. of 1876) in certain important respects, and by revising the rules issued under that Act with reference to the fitting, provisioning, sanitary