SRINAGAR: A fresh political and communal storm erupted in Jammu on Friday as several Hindu right-wing organisations, under the banner of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti (SMVSS), staged a major protest demanding that Muslim students admitted to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME) be shifted out and the seats reserved exclusively for Hindu students.
On Friday, Hundreds of protesters occupied the vital Tawi bridge, raising slogans against the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, and the Lieutenant Governor, who heads the Shrine Board. The demonstration was led by SMVSS convener Sukhbir Singh Mankotia.
Mankotia told the gathering that the agitation was not communal. “This is the battle of our faith. Some people are trying to give it a communal colour, and the society has to be careful of such people,” he said. He rejected Omar Abdullah’s assertion that the admissions were strictly merit-based, calling the statement “wrong” and “shameful”.
The row began after 42 Muslim, one Sikh and seven Hindu students were selected for the 50 MBBS seats for the 2025–26 session, all through the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET). The SMVSS, backed by organisations such as the BJP, VHP, Bajrang Dal, Shiv Sena, Dogra Front, and other Hindu groups, has held dozens of protests across Jammu and Reasi.
Mankotia argued that the Shrine Board was funded by donations from lakhs of Hindu devotees and therefore should spend this money “only for those who have faith in Mata Vaishno Devi”. He said the Samiti would intensify its movement until the Shrine Board altered the admission policy and associated institutions with “Hindu religious priorities”.
Purushottam Dadhichi, a core committee member and president of Shri Sanatan Dharma Sabha, accused successive Jammu and Kashmir governments of failing to contribute to the development of the Vaishno Devi shrine.
Responding to the controversy, Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surender Choudhary reiterated that admissions at the medical college were made purely on merit.
“Children’s education should not be judged on the scale of religion. The students who have been admitted are meritorious candidates. They cleared NEET and were selected on that basis,” Choudhary said on the sidelines of an event marking the 120th birth anniversary of Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah.
He said the issue was being “unnecessarily politicised” and argued that the Sangharsh Samiti did not represent the sentiments of all communities in Jammu. “All their affiliations are aligned with the BJP. The BJP has not come forward openly and has instead put the Samiti in front to lead this movement,” he alleged.
He also questioned the BJP’s criticism of the governing Act under which the university functions. “The BJP ruled Jammu and Kashmir for 11 years, in the PDP-BJP coalition and later during the LG administration. Why did they not amend the Act then? Now, when the Omar Abdullah government is in place, they are raising these allegations,” he said.
Earlier, Omar Abdullah said that any institute wanting to allocate seats on a religious basis should first give up government support.
He said such institutions must stop taking state grants and return the value of the free land they were given before attempting to change their rules and restrict admissions to a single community.
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti strongly criticised the demands for religious-based seat allocation, warning that such moves would damage the social harmony of Jammu and Kashmir and set a dangerous precedent across India.
“Ignoring merit and demanding distribution of seats based on religion is wrong. If this begins here, it will spread to other parts as well,” Mehbooba said.
She reminded that universities like Mata Vaishno Devi and Baba Ghulam Shah were envisioned as centres of quality education open to all eligible students. “The idea was simple — anyone with merit would get admission,” she said, noting that while Mata Vaishno Devi University had performed well, Baba Ghulam Shah University continued to face challenges.
Calling the controversy “completely wrong”, she said Jammu had historically been a region where “the lion and the lamb could drink water from the same river”. She urged people to protect the inclusive ethos of the region.
