The Haj Committee of India received just four applications from Jammu and Kashmir by women wishing to perform Haj without a male guardian or a Mehram, a media report says.

The maximum number of applications— around 1120 out of the total 1300— came from Kerala.

The Government of India for the first time decided to allow women pilgrims over the age of 45 to undertake the pilgrimage in groups of at least four sans ‘Mehram’.

Kolkata stood in the second place with only 48 applications while 32 applications were received from Uttar Pradesh and 28 from Karnataka, Economic Times reported.

Jammu & Kashmir and Assam got only four applications each, followed by Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand. From Bihar and Gujarat, there were no applications.