In a move widely perceived as a response to protests by right-wing Hindu groups, India has shut down the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Medical Institute (SMVDMI) in Indian-administered Kashmir after Muslim students made up the majority of its inaugural medical batch.
The National Medical Commission (NMC), the federal authority overseeing medical education in India, revoked the college’s recognition on January 6, citing alleged deficiencies in faculty, hospital infrastructure, and teaching resources. SMVDMI, located in Reasi district near the Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas, had admitted 50 students in its first five-year MBBS program: 42 Muslims, seven Hindus, and one Sikh. Most Muslim students were residents of Kashmir.
Admissions and Merit
Medical admissions in India are conducted through the National Entrance Examination Test (NEET), a centralized exam overseen by the National Testing Agency under the federal Ministry of Education. Every year, over two million students compete for approximately 120,000 MBBS seats. While public colleges are preferred for lower fees and higher prestige, students who do not meet the cutoff for government colleges often join private institutions like SMVDMI.
Saniya Jan, an 18-year-old from Baramulla district, recalled the joy of qualifying for NEET and being admitted to SMVDMI. “It was a dream come true – to be a doctor,” she told Al Jazeera. For Saniya and many Kashmiri students, the college’s relatively close distance—196 miles from her home—made it an attractive option.
Protests and Communal Tensions
Soon after the admission results were announced, local Hindu groups launched protests over the religious composition of the college’s first batch, arguing that Muslim students had “no business being there” because the college was founded by a Hindu religious trust funded partly by temple donations. Legislators from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) petitioned the region’s lieutenant governor to reserve seats exclusively for Hindu students.
As protests intensified, the NMC revoked the college’s authorization, citing infrastructural and operational shortcomings, including faculty numbers, hospital bed occupancy, and library resources.
Students Dispute Claims
Students interviewed by Al Jazeera rejected the official reasons for closure. “The college was well-equipped,” said Jahan*, a student. “Every student had access to four cadavers for dissection, unlike other colleges.” Saniya’s father, Gazanfar Ahmad, said, “Everything seemed normal. The faculty was supportive, and religion did not matter inside the campus.”
Political analyst Zafar Choudhary questioned the timing of the NMC decision. “How could deficiencies suddenly appear when the college had already started its academic session?” he asked. He also emphasized that medical admissions are based on merit, not religion, and called the Hindu groups’ demand “absurd.”
Official Reactions
The BJP denied targeting Muslim students, framing the protests as protecting devotees’ “legitimate sentiments” toward the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine. “The college recognition was withdrawn because NMC found several shortcomings. It is not a question of Hindus or Muslims,” said BJP spokesman Altaf Thakur.
Omar Abdullah, chief minister of Indian-administered Kashmir, pledged to reassign SMVDMI students to other medical colleges in the region, ensuring their education continues. “These children cleared the National Entrance Examination Test. It is our legal responsibility to adjust them,” he said. Abdullah condemned efforts to shut the college, calling it a threat to the future of Kashmiri students.
Other regional leaders highlighted the broader implications. Tanvir Sadiq noted that government funding made all Kashmiris stakeholders in the college, not just donors to the shrine. Nasir Khuehami, head of the Jammu and Kashmir Students’ Association, warned that framing admissions along religious lines could “communalize” education in the region.
Students’ Perspective
Back home in Baramulla, Saniya Jan worries about her future. “I appeared for one of the hardest exams in India and earned my place at a medical college. Now everything seems to have collapsed. They turned our merit into religion,” she said.
The closure of SMVDMI underscores ongoing tensions in Kashmir and raises broader questions about the intersection of merit, religion, and access to higher education in India.