Mumbai: The appointment of Manoj Jadhav, a non-Muslim bureaucrat, as the executive officer of the Maharashtra State Haj Committee has become a contentious issue within the Muslim community. Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi has written to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis requesting the revocation of the appointment.
Abu Asim Azmi Writes CM
Azmi argued that the executive officer of the body—which administers the Haj pilgrimage from Maharashtra—should be conversant with Islamic religious obligations. He stated that the appointment violates the Constitution of India, which safeguards equality, freedom of religion, and the right of religious denominations to manage their own affairs.
However, other members of the community maintain that the executive officer is not a religious head, but rather holds an administrative post that can be assigned to any senior government official. Shuaib Khatib, trustee of Jama Masjid, the city's most important mosque, said that he spoke to senior government officials who noted that non-Muslims have headed the state committee in the past.
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"The chief executive officer of the central Haj committee, where policies are made for the pilgrimage, is a Muslim. The state's executive officer has to merely implement the policy and send a report to the centre. A senior official has been appointed as the state head and there is no rule that the official has to be a Muslim," said Khatib.
Azmi said that the appointment of Jadhav is a 'brazen violation' of the intent and spirit of the Haj Committee Act, 2002. "The Maharashtra State Hajj Committee is constituted under a Muslim-centric statutory scheme, framed to ensure that its administration, policy formulation, and functioning remain aligned with Islamic jurisprudence, religious practices, and the sensitive requirements of Haj pilgrimage. The act clearly envisages that leadership and key administrative control should vest in Muslim representatives elected from amongst the committee members, who are conversant with Islamic religious obligations and community-specific requirements," Azmi said in his letter.
The debate over the appointment of Jadhav has been spurred by different interpretations of the law. Section 29 of the act says that the appointment of the executive officer for a State Haj Committee does not strictly mandate that the person must be a Muslim. However, the law provides that the person so appointed shall preferably be a Muslim. So, while the government should look for a Muslim officer for the role, it is not a legal disqualification for a non-Muslim to hold the position if a suitable Muslim officer is not available or appointed, said Khatib.
Central Example
At the central level, the pool of candidates is explicitly restricted to Muslim officers. In this case, C. Shahnavas, an Indian Administrative Service officer, is the chief executive officer of the Haj Committee of India. Shahnavas did not respond to messages and calls for a comment.
Azmi said that the appointment raises serious constitutional concerns and appears to infringe upon protections guaranteed under Articles 14, 15(1), 25(1), and 26(a)-(b) of the Constitution of India, which safeguard equality, freedom of religion, and the right of religious denominations to manage their own affairs.
Legal Threat
Azmi's social media representative, Sayyad Rameez, said that the party will seek legal intervention if Jadhav's appointment is not cancelled. "We were waiting for the municipal elections to end," said Sayyad.
Senior journalist Saeed Hameed was of the opinion that the Hajj is a religious process. "Non-Muslims cannot enter Makkah, the centre of the pilgrimage. Maharashtra sends the largest number of pilgrims from India. The executive officer may have to visit Makkah to oversee arrangements. The officer may have to stay with pilgrims. This is not about managing a property; it is conducting religious affairs," said Hameed, who added that if the state minority department did not have a senior Muslim officer to head the local committee, it should have asked for Muslim officials on deputation from other states.
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