Education Institutions Must Be Free From Communalism, Say Jammu Academicians After Vaishno Devi Medical College Closure
The academicians terming the derecognition of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME) “polarisation of educational institutes” in the name of religion.
By ETV Bharat Jammu & Kashmir Team
Published : January 10, 2026 at 1:11 PM IST
By Mohd Ashraf Ganie
Jammu: Top academicians of Jammu University have expressed dismay over the derecognition of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME), terming it “polarisation of educational institutes” in the name of religion.
On January 6, the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) withdrew the Letter of Permission (LoP) granted to the SMVDIME for running the MBBS course with 50 seats for the academic year 2025-26.
This comes after Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti, a grouping of right-wing outfits that came into being in November 2025, pressed for ousting 42 Kashmiri Muslim students to other medical colleges. The students were admitted to the college through a competitive merit-based NEET exam almost three months ago.
The Samiti reasoned that offerings of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board that set up the college come from Hindu pilgrims and should be utilised only for Hindus. But the SMVDIME is not listed as a minority institution and gets grants from the J&K government (over Rs 50 crore in the last two years, as per the ruling National Conference), making it not feasible for religion-based admission.
Shoib Inayat Malik, Professor and Head of the Department of Urdu at the University of Jammu, said such developments were harmful for society and had already resulted in serious losses, including a setback to the Medical College.
“It is extremely unfortunate that our institutions are being polarised. Such things are not good for any society. What happened with Mata Vaishno Devi University is a glaring example. The loss and its consequences will ultimately be faced by all of us,” Prof. Malik told ETV Bharat.
Referring to the stalled medical college, he said that securing a medical college was never easy and requires years of struggle. “After immense efforts, when a medical college gets sanctioned, it opens new doors of development for the entire region. Unfortunately, those doors for Vaishno Devi Medical College have now been closed,” he said.
Prof. Malik, who is also Principal of the Institute of Music & Fine Arts (IMFA), University of Jammu, said that educational institutions were meant to teach us humanity, tolerance, and coexistence. “Dragging religion and communal considerations into these spaces is deeply unfortunate and should never have happened,” he said.
Calling for unity, Prof. Malik said India was a country of diverse religions and cultures, and preserving harmony is essential. “We must keep our educational institutions free from communalism. India is home to dozens of religions, and the need of the hour is to keep the country united, not to give rise to divisions,” he said.
He added, “It is unfortunate that some people are celebrating this loss. This is not the loss of one institution or one community—it is a loss for everyone. I can only say that I feel pity for such thinking.”
Another academician of Jammu University, Chaman Lal Bhagat, Associate Professor, Department of Urdu, Jammu University, said that education is a fundamental right of every citizen, and no one can be deprived of it.
He said, “Education is light and progress and enlightens the thinking of a person. Students who passed the national-level exam like NEET got admission; in such a situation, the closure of the institution is a manifestation of negative thinking, which is neither in the interest of the country nor good for development.”
Bhagat said that such measures hinder development and prosperity and that institutions like Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and Banaras Hindu University (BHU) are providing education to students across the country, where there is no discrimination on the basis of religion.
“Education is a fundamental right of any Indian citizen, and no one can deprive anybody of it. The students have qualified for NEET and were given admission to the institution for MBBS, but some negative people forced the closure of the institution,” he said.
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