India's Supreme Court Rejects Bid For Pilgrimage Funding For Non-Muslims

India's Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition seeking to have it order the government to fund pilgrims of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist faiths to visit places of worship in China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal to the same extent as the government funds Muslim Haj pilgrims. According to The Hindu, a 3-judge panel said the matter should be pursued by petitioning the government, not through litigation. The public interest litigation petition that had been filed with the court alleged that thew differential funding amounted to religious discrimination that violates Art. 15 of India's Constitution.