Admissions Row Sparks Protests at Vaishno Devi Medical College

A storm has erupted over the first-ever MBBS batch at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence after 42 out of 50 seats were assigned to students from the Muslim community. The decision has drawn objections from a coalition of Hindu-affiliated groups, who argue the institute—established and funded by devotees of the shrine—ought to prioritise admission for those aligned with its spiritual heritage. The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti has announced a sit-in protest at Raghunath Chowk on November 29, mobilising six teams tasked with galvanising participation from traders, religious leaders, women, students and political organisations. In a public meeting convened by the group, convenor Col S. S. Mankotia said the agitation aims to “reflect the sentiment of devotees who fund the institution.”

Supporters of the agitation, including the Bharatiya Janata Party and other right-wing Hindu outfits such as Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, have urged authorities to annul the admission list or declare the medical college a minority institution to allow preferential entry for Hindu students. BJP’s Leader of Opposition in the J&K Assembly, Sunil Sharma, submitted a memorandum to the Lt Governor, arguing that donations from Hindu pilgrims should benefit students of their community rather than those from another faith.

Advocates of merit-based admission have rejected the call. The Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examination and SMVDIME officials asserted the MBBS seats were allocated strictly on the basis of performance in the national entrance test and students’ personal choices. SMVDIME’s Executive Director said classes have already begun, with only three students opting out — vacancies which are being offered to other eligible candidates.

At the same time, the National Conference-led regional government, represented by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, has defended the admissions. He emphasised that denying seats on religious grounds would contravene constitutional secular principles and questioned whether objections to Muslim students would extend to denial of treatment in a hospital run under the same shrine board.

Defenders of the admissions say that granting preferential treatment based on faith would set a dangerous precedent. Student leaders from the J&K Students Association warned that institutionalising community-wise quotas undermines secular ethos and could trigger demands for reciprocal restrictions at institutionally Muslim-run universities, deepening polarisation.

Critics of the agitation warn that invoking religious identity in professional education stakes more than the fate of 50 students — it threatens to erode equal opportunities in a region already sensitised to communal divisions. Those demanding cancellation of the list say institutional identity rooted in religious funding must reflect in admissions. Others contend that meritocratic standards, once verified, must be honoured regardless of background, arguing that a medical college’s purpose is to educate doctors, not to enforce sectarian distribution.