The National Medical Commission (NMC) has withdrawn permission for the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME) in Reasi, Jammu, to run an MBBS course from the 2025-26 academic session. This decision has ignited a fierce political and social debate in Jammu and Kashmir, with the BJP and allied Hindu groups celebrating it as a victory, while former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and regional parties have condemned it as a blow to students' futures.
Celebrations and Condemnation: A Deep Political Divide
The decision, announced on Wednesday, was met with immediate victory marches, firecrackers, and dancing by activists of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti. This conglomerate of Hindu social and religious organizations had been agitating since November against the admission of 42 Muslim students, predominantly from Kashmir, in the institute's first batch of 50. The batch had only seven Hindu and one Sikh candidate.
The Samiti's core argument was that an institution funded by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board should prioritize Hindu students and those with faith in the deity. They claimed the NMC's move was a direct result of their prolonged protest, calling it their "first major victory."
In sharp contrast, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reacted with anger, accusing the celebrants of "playing with the future of students." He lamented that while people elsewhere fight to establish medical institutions, in Jammu they were celebrating the closure of one. "If you are happy to destroy the future of our children, then go ahead and burst crackers," he stated.
The Official Reason and the Political Fallout
Officially, the NMC cited non-compliance with minimum standards discovered during an inspection as the reason for withdrawing the Letter of Permission. However, the timing and context have led to widespread political interpretations.
BJP's J&K president and Rajya Sabha member Sat Sharma welcomed the decision, thanking Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Union Health Minister J P Nadda for withdrawing permission while safeguarding the interests of the already selected students.
Kashmir-based political parties, however, slammed the move. The National Conference (NC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) termed it a loss for the Jammu region and blamed the BJP. NC leader Javed Rana argued that admissions should not be based on religion and accused the BJP of communalizing the issue. PDP youth wing president Aditya Gupta called it a "ruthless setback" for Jammu, engineered by the BJP for narrow political gains at the cost of the region's future.
Future Implications and Omar Abdullah's Warnings
Omar Abdullah highlighted the long-term consequences, noting that the institute's intake capacity was set to rise to 400 seats within two years, with about 250 of those likely going to students from Jammu. "Now, no one will get those seats because the college has been closed in the name of religion," he said. He warned that students who fail to secure medical admissions in the future should remember the role played by the Sangharsh Samiti.
In a telling remark just an hour before the NMC order on Tuesday, Abdullah had suggested shutting down the college, stating that the religious politics surrounding it had made it unworthy to run. He expressed concern for the students' environment and requested the Government of India and the health ministry to adjust the affected students in other colleges.
With the Sangharsh Samiti stating that their current protest has ended but that they will now focus on amending the Shrine Board Act, the controversy over the role of religion in shrine board-run institutions in Jammu and Kashmir is far from over.
