BJP and Right-Wing Groups Call It “Discrimination Against Hindus”; Demand Revocation
Srinagar: A major political storm has erupted in Jammu and Kashmir after right-wing Hindu organisations demanded the cancellation of admissions granted to 42 meritorious Muslim students in the MBBS programme at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME) in Katra.
The primary argument put forward is that the institute, established and largely funded through donations from Hindu devotees to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB), should reserve seats exclusively or preferentially for Hindu students.The controversy escalated when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) openly endorsed the demand and its leaders, including the Leader of Opposition in the J&K Assembly, Sunil Sharma, submitted a formal memorandum to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha—who also serves as Chairman of the SMVDSB—urging revocation of the admissions.
However, several political analysts argue that the BJP’s aggressive posturing on the SMVDIME admissions controversy could seriously backfire, undermining the party’s carefully cultivated public outreach programme in the predominantly Muslim Kashmir Valley. Having invested considerable effort in recent months to shed its image as an exclusively Jammu-centric or “anti-Valley” party, the BJP was hoping to chip away at the traditional dominance of the National Conference (NC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by projecting a more inclusive face to Kashmiri voters ahead of future elections.
By openly endorsing a demand that is widely perceived as anti-Muslim and discriminatory, the party risks reinforcing the very narrative it has been trying to dismantle- that it remains fundamentally uncomfortable with Muslim participation in institutions associated with Hindu religious sentiment.
Critics say this single issue could negate months of grassroots outreach, door-to-door campaigns, and confidence-building measures in the Valley, pushing moderate and fence-sitting voters back into the arms of regional parties.
Thus, far from consolidating Hindu support in Jammu without electoral cost, the controversy may end up inflating the BJP’s Hindu-nationalist credentials at the expense of its fragile and still-nascent acceptability among ordinary Kashmiris.
Speaking to reporters in Jammu on Monday, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah strongly condemned the demand and asked agitators to approach the Supreme Court if they wished to challenge the merit-based admission policy instead of communalising the issue.“Where in the J&K Assembly Act that established Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University and its medical college does it say that students from a particular community will be kept out?” Abdullah asked. “It was clearly stipulated that admissions would be strictly on merit, irrespective of religion. If anyone wants religion-based admission, let them move the Supreme Court and get the law amended."
He added, "The word ‘secular’ still exists in our Constitution. If the BJP doesn’t want India to remain secular, they should openly say so and remove that word from the Preamble. Sunil Sharma should first read the relevant Act passed by the Assembly." He asked, "What is the fault of students who qualified through NEET on pure merit? And if this logic is accepted, should we also declare that Muslim patients will not be treated at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Super-Speciality Hospital?”
PDP Leader Iltija Mufti called It “anti-Muslim apartheid”. In a strongly worded post on 'X', she wrote:“In ‘Naya (new) Kashmir’, discrimination against Muslims now extends even to education. The bitter irony is that this anti-Muslim apartheid is being legitimised in India’s only Muslim-majority state under its only Muslim Chief Minister. Shameful.”
J&K People’s Conference chairman Sajad Gani Lone issued a scathing statement, terming the BJP’s stance an attempt to communalise the noble field of medicine itself. He said, “This new controversy over students admitted to the medical college of Vaishno Devi University is stretching things too far. The BJP is now experimenting with communalising medical sciences.Let me remind everyone. There is an All-India entrance test called NEET. The brightest young minds in the country appear for it. Those who clear it with top ranks work tirelessly to become doctors who treat patients, perform life-saving surgeries, and push the boundaries of human knowledge through research. From open-heart surgery to robotic procedures, from restoring eyesight to inventing MRI and CT scans—medical science has progressed because brilliant minds, regardless of faith, dedicated their lives to defeating disease."
He added, "The pioneers of modern medicine would turn in their graves if they learnt that a subject as universal and humane as medicine is being dragged into petty communal politics by under-educated leaders.One sincerely wishes a basic IQ test were made mandatory for anyone entering public life.Instead of joining the global race in medical research and innovation—where India has regrettably lagged behind—we are busy turning future doctors into communal pawns. We need researchers, not religious zealots.”
Syed Altaf Bukhari, president of the J&K Apni Party, expressed shock that mainstream BJP leaders were echoing fringe voices. “When fringe elements raise such demands, one can ignore their frustration and flawed logic. But when the Leader of Opposition and senior BJP leaders start speaking the same language, it becomes deeply disturbing.How can a premier institution like SMVDIME discriminate on the basis of religion? If this logic is accepted, tomorrow the same can be applied to Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University or the Islamic University of Science and Technology—forcing them to admit only Muslim students. Where will this end? Do we want a society fragmented on the lines of Jinnah’s two-nation theory that once divided the subcontinent?It is painful to see attempts to block meritorious Muslim students from pursuing medicine at SMVDIME."
He hoped the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister will ensure injustice is not meted out to meritorious students. He said, "I trust the wisdom of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Hon’ble Home Minister Shri Amit Shah to intervene and guide the matter in the right direction.”
The BJP has demanded revocation of the 2025-26 admissions, amending the Shrine Board Act and University Act for religion-preferred admissions and corrective steps to align with "devotee sentiments." The memorandum presented to the Lt. Governor by it said, "Donations to the shrine board come from Hindus, for the welfare of Hindus. Only those who have faith in Mata Vaishno Devi should get admission."
Other right-wing groups, particularly those affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ecosystem, too have taken a unified and vehement position against the merit-based admission of 42 Muslim students out of 50 seats in the inaugural MBBS batch at the SMVDIME. They view the current composition as a "religious imbalance" that offends Hindu sentiments and dilutes the shrine's sacred identity. This stance has manifested in protests, formal demands for policy changes, and calls for granting the institute "minority institution" status under Article 30 of the Indian Constitution to enable religion-based reservations.
The VHP has been at the forefront, framing the issue as an example of "selective secularism" and "reverse discrimination" against Hindus. It argues that public welfare projects funded by Hindu offerings should not undermine the faith of donors. Seeking an immediate review and revocation of the 2025-26 admissions, it has also demanded policy overhaul to ensure "religious balance" in future batches, granting minority status to SMVDIME for Hindu reservations and similar scrutiny of faculty appointments, claiming a disproportionate number of Muslim and Christian staff.
As the controversy escalates, the fate of the 42 meritorious students hangs in the balance. "What should have been a routine, NEET-driven merit list has been transformed into a high-stakes litmus test for India’s secular credentials, the sanctity of constitutional equality, and the future of inclusive higher education in Jammu and Kashmir, " said political analyst and former professor at the University of Kashmir, Nazir A. Qazi.
