In June 2025, when Ishfaq Bashir (name changed) cleared NEET, the nationwide entrance exam for undergraduate medical studies, he was elated.
With a score of 480+ out of 720, he fell short of clearing the cut-off of 514 needed for admission to the premier government medical colleges (GMCs) in Jammu & Kashmir. But, after mandatory counselling, he managed to secure a seat at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence, a semi-private college in Reasi, Jammu, roughly 300 km from Kulgam from where he hails.
In November, Bashir moved to the medical college's newly built campus, and started his MBBS degree as part of its maiden batch.
Now, his dream of becoming a doctor has hit an unexpected roadblock— mid-session—after the National Medical Commission (NMC) last week revoked permission to the college amid protests over Muslim students outnumbering non-Muslim students, citing lapses in minimum standards.
"I don't know how our religious identity came in between," Bashir tells The Quint on phone from the Reasi campus. "The selection process is based on UGC guidelines—and only meritorious students are chosen."
"For days, there were protests outside our college gates, with unknown people holding placards... It affected us mentally, especially after we started realising that we were being singled out for our religious identity."
"We don't know what will happen next," Bashir adds.
'Violating Faith of Devotees': What Led to the Revocation?
In September last year, the Vaishno Devi medical college had received a mandate from the NMC to fill 50 MBBS seats for the academic year 2025-26.
When Bashir was invited for counselling by the Jammu & Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examination (BOPEE), he listed the Raesi-based medical college as a preference. His name features among the 42 Muslim students, out of the 50, who were admitted into the college, the number which snowballed into the controversy.
Soon after the list of students admitted to the medical college was made public, around 60 pro-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) organisations coalesced under the banner of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangarsh Samiti, demanding the admissions for Muslim students be scrapped.
They argued that the medical college was being run by the money donated by the pilgrims at Vaisho Devi, the Hindu shrine.
In November, the BJP officially lent its support to the cause, with Sunil Sharma, a senior BJP legislator from Jammu, meeting the Union Territory’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. He requested the latter to earmark the admissions in the college for Hindu students alone.
“Our senior MLA delegation met the LG… and discussed the Vaishno Devi medical college where community-specific students have gained admission,” Sharma had said in November.
“Those who donate to this trust seek the development of Sanatan Dharma. We urged the LG that admission should be ensured only for those who believe in Sanatan Dharma and Mata Vaishno Devi.”Sunil Sharma
On the heels of this controversy, a team from the NMC paid a surprise inspection visit to the college on 2 January. Four days later, in a letter to the college's authorities, the NMC revoked its Letter of Permission, forcing the college to cease its classes mid-session.
'Communalising Education'
The issue has kicked off a political storm in the Union Territory, with local politicians accusing the BJP of "communalising education" in the erstwhile state. In Jammu, several right-wing groups were seen celebrating the dissolution of the maiden MBBS batch, including distributing sweets.
“People generally fight to have a medical college in their midst. But, here, the fight was put up to have the medical college shut,” Chief Minister Omar Abdullah told reporters on Thursday, 8 January, adding, “You (BJP) have played with the future of the medical students of Jammu & Kashmir. If ruining the future of students brings you happiness, then celebrate it.”
However, the BJP's spokesperson Altaf Thakur told The Quint that the party doesn’t look at the issue through a religious angle.
“The NMC revoked its permission to the college because of the lack of infrastructure. It has nothing to do with being Hindus or Muslims. Students will be adjusted in other colleges. No one is ruining their education.”Altaf Thakur
The NMC's letter, too, doesn’t refer to the raging controversy over the admissions.
Instead, it has grounded the withdrawal of its recognition in technical shortcomings, with the letter detailing several critical deficiencies in the college infrastructure, including shortfalls in bed occupancy, insufficient equipment, literature, and faculty members.
The NMC alleged that the institute had failed to meet the minimum standard requirements specified in the Medical Education Regulations, 2023. The Quint tried reaching out to the NMC's Executive Director Yashpal Sharma on phone, but he remained unavailable. The story will be updated as and when he reverts.
'Hindus Do Not Prefer Vaishno Devi Medical College'
Over the weekend, Bashir and his other classmates were busy completing the exit formalities before they leave the hostels.
“We fail to understand why the issue erupted in the first place. Our selection was determined by the Jammu & Kashmir BOPEE. Our classes went well. We studied here for two months and didn't face any technical issues. In fact, I feel that the infrastructure here is far better than the GMCs we have in Kashmir.”Ishfaq Bashir
Bashir claimed the concentration of Muslim students was on the higher side because the Hindu students (those who could not score enough to get into the GMCs) from Jammu choose Acharya Shri Chander College of Medical Sciences (ASCOMS) in Jammu over Vaishno Devi during their counselling calls.
Accorded the ‘Hindu Minority Institution’ status by the government in 1997, Acharya medical college is managed by Shri Chander Chinar Bada Akhara Udasin Society and allocates reserved seats under quotas for candidates from the Hindu communities in Jammu.
“Only those Hindu students who had mentioned Vaishno Devi medical college as their choice during the counseling were admitted. And they were our classmates,” Bashir adds.
Peer Mushtaq Ahmad, former chairperson of the BOPEE, confirms this. “Acharya Shri Chander medical college is given preference because it has better facilities. Vaishno Devi medical college is new, and it will take time for it to catch up, which is why a lot of students in Jammu may have prioritised the former,” he told The Quint.
“It is ultimately the marks as well as the choice of students that prevails. When I headed the board, many (Hindu) students from Jammu would prefer medical institutes in Kashmir, and they would come here to study. Why would anyone stop them?”
'A New Reckoning in the Valley'
In Kashmir, the celebrations over the suspension of college has triggered a sense of surprise.
“It is purely on the basis of merit that you had most Muslim admissions there,” says Mir Mujeeb, a student leader in J&K, who is part of the ongoing deliberations with the government over the reservation issue.
“In the following batches, it was likely that this demographic balance would have tilted to the other side. Competence determines this selection. But the kind of outrage that this issue has generated shows they couldn’t tolerate it," he adds.
In Jammu, the voices have largely centered around the grievance that the Vaishno Devi medical college was funded by offerings of the devotees of Hindu shrine, and, therefore, the preponderance of Muslim students in the admissions “insults” their devotion.
Nasir Khuihami, national convener of the J&K Students Association, tells The Quint that the J&K government too had generously funded the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, which manages the institute.
“The government’s own data available publicly show funds to the tune Rs 121.30 crore were disbursed to the institute since 2017. In the current fiscal year, Rs 28 crore has been given to the university by the government,” Khuihami says.
He adds,
“So creating this narrative that the institute is funded by one community alone is highly damaging. Can we ever say that the Islamic University in Pulwama or Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University in Rajouri should only admit Muslim students? We cannot because a secular country cannot be run that way."
(Shakir Mir is an independent journalist reporting on news and politics from Srinagar, Kashmir.)