India has shut down a medical college in Indian-administered Kashmir following sustained protests by right-wing Hindu groups against the admission of a large number of Muslim students, raising serious concerns about religious discrimination and political interference in education. On January 6, the National Medical Commission (NMC), India\u2019s federal regulator for medical education, revoked the recognition of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Medical Institute (SMVDMI), located in Reasi district, a mountainous area overlooking the Pir Panjal range that separates the Jammu plains from the Kashmir Valley. The decision came weeks after protests erupted over the religious composition of the college\u2019s first-ever MBBS batch, launched in November. Of the 50 students admitted, 42 were Muslims, most of them residents of Kashmir, while seven were Hindus and one was a Sikh. The college, founded by a Hindu religious charity and partly funded by the government, had launched its first five-year Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme this year. Admissions to medical colleges across India\u2014both public and private\u2014are conducted through a centralized system based on the National Entrance Examination Test (NEET), administered by the federal National Testing Agency (NTA). More than two million students appear for the exam annually, competing for approximately 120,000 MBBS seats nationwide. Students who score high typically enter public colleges, where fees are lower but cutoffs are steep. Those meeting the minimum threshold but falling short of public college cutoffs often enroll in private institutions, including SMVDMI. One such student was Saniya Jan, an 18-year-old from Kashmir\u2019s Baramulla district, who described her selection as a dream come true. \u201cIt was a dream come true \u2013 to be a doctor,\u201d she told Al Jazeera. She chose SMVDMI during counselling because it was 316 kilometers from her home, comparatively closer than other medical colleges. Her parents drove her to Reasi when classes began in November. \u201cMy daughter has been a topper since childhood. I have three daughters, and she is the brightest. She really worked hard to get a medical seat,\u201d her father, Gazanfar Ahmad, said. However, soon after the academic session began, local Hindu groups launched protests, demanding that Muslim students\u2019 admissions be scrapped. Protesters argued that since the college was largely funded by offerings from devotees at the Mata Vaishno Devi Temple, a prominent Hindu shrine, Muslim students had \u201cno business being there.\u201d Demonstrations continued for weeks, with protesters gathering daily outside the college gates and raising slogans. Legislators from Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wrote petitions to Kashmir\u2019s Lieutenant Governor, urging that admissions be reserved exclusively for Hindu students. The lieutenant governor serves as the federally appointed administrator of the disputed region. As protests escalated, demands extended to the complete closure of the college. On January 6, the NMC announced it had withdrawn the college\u2019s authorization, citing failure to meet \u201cminimum standard requirements\u201d for medical education. According to the commission, the college suffered from deficiencies in teaching faculty, hospital bed occupancy, outpatient flow, library facilities, and operating theatres. A day later, the letter of permission allowing the college to operate was formally withdrawn. Students, however, strongly disputed these claims. \u201cI don\u2019t think the college lacked resources,\u201d said Jahan, a student who gave only her second name. \u201cSome colleges only have one cadaver per batch. This college had four, and every student got individual dissection time.\u201d Another student, Rafiq, said relatives studying in government medical colleges in Srinagar lacked similar facilities. \u201cEven they don\u2019t have the kind of facilities that we had here,\u201d he said. Saniya\u2019s father echoed these views, saying that during admission everything appeared normal. \u201cThe college was good. The faculty was supportive. It looked like no one cared about religion inside the campus,\u201d he said. Political analyst Zafar Choudhary, based in Jammu, questioned the timing of the NMC\u2019s decision. \u201cLogic dictates that infrastructure would have improved since classes began. So how did these deficiencies suddenly appear?\u201d he asked. He also dismissed the protesters\u2019 demands as baseless, noting that admissions are religion-neutral. \u201cThere is a system in place. Students give multiple preferences, and selections are based on merit. How is it their fault?\u201d he said. Al Jazeera attempted to contact SMVDMI\u2019s executive head, Yashpal Sharma, for comment, but he did not respond. The college has issued no public statement since losing its authorization. Students have since packed their belongings and returned home. Another student, Salim Manzoor, pointed out that Hindu students are enrolled under reserved quotas in a medical college in Muslim-majority Kashmir, questioning why Muslim students were now being targeted elsewhere. The BJP has denied claims that Muslim students were unwelcome, saying concerns stemmed from \u201creligious sentiments\u201d tied to the shrine. BJP spokesperson Altaf Thakur said the recognition was withdrawn solely due to regulatory shortcomings and not religious bias. Last week, Omar Abdullah, chief minister of Indian-administered Kashmir, announced that affected students would be accommodated in other medical colleges through supernumerary seats, ensuring their education is not disrupted. He strongly condemned the protests, stating: \u201cYou have played with the future of medical students. If ruining students\u2019 futures brings you happiness, then celebrate it.\u201d Regional legislator Tanvir Sadiq said the university housing the medical college had received more than $13 million in government funding since 2017, making all Kashmiris stakeholders. \u201cAnyone lawfully domiciled in Kashmir can study there,\u201d he said. Nasir Khuehami, head of the Jammu and Kashmir Students\u2019 Association, warned that framing education along religious lines could dangerously communalize the sector. He noted that Muslim-run minority institutions across India do not exclude Hindu students. Back in Baramulla, Saniya waits anxiously for her future to be decided. \u201cI cleared one of the hardest exams in India and earned my seat on merit,\u201d she said. \u201cNow everything has crashed. This happened because of our identity. They turned our merit into religion.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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