What is the entire controversy surrounding admissions to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Board's medical college? Understand it here.

News Topical, Digital Desk : A political storm has erupted in Jammu and Kashmir over admissions to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Board's medical college, which could escalate into a regional and communal issue. A BJP delegation met LG Manoj Sinha demanding the cancellation of the merit list. The controversy erupted after 42 out of 50 seats in the first MBBS batch of the medical college funded by the Vaishno Devi temple were allotted to Muslim students. This sparked protests by right-wing Hindu organizations in Reasi district, and then, taking political advantage, the Jammu and Kashmir BJP formally intervened by meeting LG Manoj Sinha on Saturday.

A delegation of BJP leaders, led by LOP Sunil Sharma, met with Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha and submitted a memorandum to the LG, demanding not only "corrective action" by cancelling the selection list, but also that any future admissions be limited to Hindu students.

Accused of ignoring 'Hindu sentiments'

After the meeting, BJP leader Sunil Sharma said, "Our senior MLA delegation met LG Sinha and discussed the Mata Vaishno Devi Medical Institution, where students from a specific community have been admitted. Those who donate to this trust want the development of Sanatan Dharma. We appealed to the LG to ensure admissions are only for those who believe in Sanatan Dharma and Mata Vaishno Devi." This statement followed a week of protests by right-wing groups alleging that "Hindu sentiments" were ignored in the selection list.

The entire controversy started when the Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examination (BOPEE) released the first NEET-UG seat-allotment list for Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME), in which Muslim candidates got most of the seats on the basis of merit-cum-preference.

Appeal for minority-institution status

The VHP, Bajrang Dal, Yuva Rajput Sabha, and other groups demanded the cancellation of the list and appealed to the Shrine Board to grant minority-institution status to provide Hindu-specific quotas. Tensions escalated earlier this week when protesters tried to force their way onto the campus and were stopped by police. As the protests escalated, a brief shutdown was also imposed in parts of Katra and Reasi.

The Shrine Board, which runs SMVDIME, has not issued a public statement. Officials maintain that the college has no role in selecting students, as admissions are conducted solely by BOPEE under NEET-UG regulations. BOPEE reiterates that allotments were made solely on the basis of merit and candidate preferences, and that the standard process used for all government medical colleges was followed.

There is no scope left for reservation on the basis of religion. 

SMVDIME was awarded 50 MBBS seats this year, all of which fall under the Union Territory's centralized counseling pool, leaving no scope for reservations based on religion. Officials insisted that the institute is not a minority institution, a status required to implement community-specific quotas. Legal experts say that minority status cannot be granted simply because an institution receives funding from a religious organization.

Under constitutional rules and the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Act, only institutions that have clear and specific control over the community qualify – a threshold that public shrine boards generally do not meet.

With protests and mounting political pressure, the administration, the Shrine Board and BOPEE are having to strike a delicate balance between maintaining merit-based admissions and assuaging growing local anger over the composition of the college's first MBBS batch.

The controversy erupted when the JKBOPEE approved a list of 50 candidates for Vaishno Devi College, 42 of whom were from Kashmir and eight from Jammu. Of these, 36 candidates have already secured admission, including three from the Jammu region.

What did the officials say?

Officials clarified that admissions for SMVIME began late and were conducted after the third round of counseling. JKBOPEE had shortlisted 5,865 domicile candidates for the Union Territory's 13 medical colleges, of which 2,000 were called for counseling. Officials said that approximately 70% of those called were from the Muslim community because of their high NEET scores.

People's Conference president and Handwara MLA Sajad Gani Lone on Sunday strongly criticised the dangerous attempt to "communalise medical sciences" in the controversy over students seeking admission to the medical school of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University.

He said, "This is greatly exaggerated. The BJP is now experimenting with the concept of communalising medical sciences," and appealed for a return to constitutional norms and academic integrity.

Stressing that medical admissions are conducted under a uniform national framework, he said, "There is a proper admission test called NEET. And that is an all-India test."

MLA Tanveer Sadiq reacted strongly.

National Conference leader and MLA Tanveer Sadiq reacted strongly, condemning the BJP and other Hindutva groups and warning that such demands risked tearing apart the social fabric. “When you communalize institutions, you’re not just playing politics—you’re dividing society from within,” Sadiq said, insisting that hospitals, schools, universities, and medical colleges should remain free from religious bias.

He questioned the wisdom behind linking admission or public service with faith.

He continued, "What kind of country will we become if institutions start deciding admissions based on religion? Will patients be treated based on their religion in the future? Will merit be set aside to accommodate the demands of the majority? This is a recipe for disaster."

His party president Altaf Bukhari accused the BJP and other Hindutva groups of adopting the same faulty logic that Jinnah used before independence.

Bukhari wrote in a social media post, "How can a renowned institution like SMVDIME discriminate against students because of their religion? And if the same logic is applied tomorrow to institutions like Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University (BGSBU) or Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST), and they are forced to admit students from only one community, what will happen to our social harmony and secular values? Do we really want to create such a society?" Bukhari further said, "This thinking is similar to that of the leaders once espoused by Jinnah—a thinking that has forever damaged the subcontinent."

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