The National Medical Commission on Tuesday withdrew approval for the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district to run its MBBS course for the academic year 2025-’26, the Hindustan Times reported.
The regulatory body for medical education said that to safeguard the interests of students already admitted, the authorities in the Union Territory have been authorised to accommodate them in other medical colleges.
The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence had seen protests in December after the release of its first admissions list for its MBBS programme by the Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examinations.
Of the 50 candidates selected for the institute’s first MBBS batch, 44 were Muslims from Kashmir and six were Hindus from Jammu. Of the six Hindu candidates selected, only three reportedly joined the course.
The protests were led by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti, with members of the Bharatiya Janata Party, its parent organisation the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Shiv Sena, Bajrang Dal and other Hindutva groups also participating.
Protesters had demanded that the first admission list be cancelled and that preference be given to Hindu students, as the institute was set up through donations to the Vaishno Devi shrine.
However, the rules do not allow for considering religion as…
Source: J&K: Permission to Mata Vaishno Devi College for MBBS course withdrawn after row on Muslim students
