Farooq Abdullah, flanked by ministerial colleague Sultan Ahmed and Sayyed Kalbe Sadiq, vice-president of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, at Kala Mandir. (Sanat Kr Sinha)

The first flight with Haj pilgrims left Calcutta airport for Jeddah in 1986, spreading joy among Muslims in the state and also highlighting the problems the formalities posed to some.

Nineteen individuals from the community joined hands to help such pilgrims, mostly from remote areas, undertake the trip to Saudi Arabia.

The organisation that came to be known as the Anjuman Khadimul Hujjaj now boasts more than 70 members and has completed 25 years of the “Fisabeelillah” (in the way of Allah) service.

The group helps thousands of Haj pilgrims every year fill in the forms, arrange their documents and make travel plans.

“The job that Anjuman Khadimul Hujjaj has been doing for so many years is commendable. I hope the organisation inspires many more people to come forward and help the pilgrims, most of whom are old and have limited mobility. A little help from us can make someone’s dream of performing the Haj come true,” the Union minister for new and renewable energy, Farooq Abdullah, said on Sunday at a seminar on Hajj — Symbol of Universal Peace, Unity and Brotherhood.

The seminar was organised at Kala Mandir on Sunday to mark 25 years of the Anjuman Khadimul Hujjaj.

Mumtaz Shamsi, the convener and a founder member of the organisation, recalled how the volunteers would carry food packets to the airport and the Haj House in Park Circus for pilgrims who did not have the means to buy food. “Filling in the application form for passport was one of the primary steps before going on pilgrimage. But most pilgrims could not fill in the form. For hours at a stretch we would sit in the Haj House and help the pilgrims fill in the form,” said Shamsi.

Sultan Ahmed, Union minister of state for tourism, suggested that the state Haj committee hand over the responsibility for paperwork and logistics management to the Anjuman Khadimul Hujjaj.