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| Minority Status for SMVDIME To Address Hindu Sentiments | | Straight Talk |
K B Jandial
The ongoing turmoil surrounding admission of the first batch of fifty MBBS students for the 2025-26 academic year at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME) has exposed the systemic fault lines and sensitive issue of Hindu Muslim parity in J&K. What should have been a routine academic exercise has escalated into a full-blown crisis, fuelling unending public protests of different sections of civil society especially the Hindu organisations. It has caused public anxiety, student resentment, and institutional embarrassment. At the heart of the issue lies the stark imbalance in admissions—a problem that reflects deeper regional shortcomings.
The medical college, established out of the offerings of the Hindu devotees at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine ( SMVDSB) to enhance healthcare capacity and offer quality medical education in Jammu, now finds itself grappling with controversies for wrong use of devotees’ offerings and donations. The sentiments are that the large chunk of Hindu devotees’ offerings should have been spent on the welfare of the Hindu community and not on people of other faiths. However, there is no allegation of procedural lapses and preferential selections.
Resentment and protests erupted within Jammu and outside when the information came in the public domain that 42 out of 50 seats have been allotted to Muslim candidates and only eight went to Hindu candidates. After operating a waiting list, the Hindu share has come down now to three. This brazen imbalance in allotment of seats is not attributed to some manipulation but the systemic fault line.
Admission to medical colleges in India is done through the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) (UG), followed by a counselling process based on rank. The exam is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), and all admissions to government, private, and deemed universities are based on NEET scores and cutoffs.
There are four categories of Medical Colleges, each with distinct seat-sharing arrangements. Government Medical Colleges contribute 15% of their seats to the All India Quota (AIQ). Among the Institutes of National Importance, all seats in the 20 AIIMS go to the national pool, while JIPMER (Puducherry & Karaikal) allocates about 73% to the national pool and the rest to Puducherry domicile candidates; PGI offers no undergraduate courses. Minority Institutions reserve 50% of seats for their respective minority communities and the remaining 50% for the open category. Private Colleges divide seats into an 85% State quota and a 15% management quota. Admission to all colleges is strictly through NEET.
As far J&K UT is concerned, admission to 10 Govt and two private medical colleges including SMVDIME is also based on the NEET (UG), followed by a counselling process based on rank which is conducted by the Board of Professional Entrance Examinations (BOPEE). Candidates after having qualified the NEET exam, registered themselves for counselling with JKBOPEE. Seats are then allocated based on the UT merit list (derived from NEET scores) and chosen preferences during the counselling registration.
The National Medical Commission (NMC) has sanctioned 50 undergraduate seats to SMVDIME in September 2025 for the 2025-26 academic session. The Medical College authorities immediately asked the BOPEE to select 50 candidates “in open merit”. The select list was accordingly formed and notified. This was based on open merit with choice of institutions of the selected students within the UT. There is no qualm in BOPEE's conduct. It could not have violated the norms by sending Hindus candidates to SMVDIME. Moreover, SMVDIME is now the best choice for Kashmiri students as it is just a three hours journey to Katra, thanks to the Vande Bharat train. Another advantage is the serene environment at the lap of Mata Vaishno Devi.
The consequences of this “huge imbalance” in admission has extended far beyond the students and institution. It jeopardized the credibility of an institution built with Mata Vaishno Devi’s offerings and expectations of devotees. The selection process does not seem to have faltered and hopefully the entire academic environment would not suffer.
This crisis raises unsettling questions about oversight. Nothing is in public domain as to how it happened despite being under the watch of well experienced and matured members in the management of the College and Shrine Board. Perhaps, nobody in the management ever thought that there would be such a huge imbalance in the admission in the college. Many stakeholders are questioning whether a shrine-funded institution should continue operating under the label of a “general” institution without any safeguards for the community that sustains it through offerings.
At the heart of the issue is not religion but the principle of alignment between institutional objectives and governance frameworks. The SMVDSB was created primarily to serve the devotees and maintain the sacred ecosystem around the pilgrimage. When its financial resources—including offerings from millions of Hindu devotees—are channelled into a medical college, the expectation is that the institution should reflect the spiritual, social, religious and cultural purpose behind its funding.
It is important to underline that students of any religion have the right to merit-based opportunities, and the academic achievements of Muslim students who secured admissions should never be questioned. The issue is institutional—not communal. The crisis stems from the absence of clear policy provisions that define the character of the college: whether it is a general institution, a shrine-linked welfare institution, or a minority institution?
As is evident, the protesters regretted SMVDIME should have been first declared as Minority Intuition and then asked the BOPEE to select 50 % Hindu students of the sanctioned seats as it funded by the offerings of Mata Vaishno Devi shrine and reaming 50 % in per open merit. But it asked for selection “on open merit”, presumably because it was not yet declared Hindu Minority Institution.
It is good that the Chairman of the SMVDSB and Lt Governor Shri Manoj Sinha has called an urgent meeting of the Board to take stock of the situation arising out of this selection. The Board has the benefit of experienced legal and administrative minds and it will settle the issue, at least for the next academic session.
Declaring SMVDIME as a Hindu minority institution under Article 30 of the Constitution, appears to be the only way out and ultimately it will be done. Article 30(1) says, “All minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.”
There is a settled law that declaring an educational institution a minority institution is a state subject. There are several Supreme Court judgments on this issue. In the T.M.A. Pai Foundation vs. State of Karnataka, (2002) 8 SCC 481, the 11-Judge Constitution Bench held that “Minority is State-Specific”. In this landmark judgment, the Supreme court held that “The unit for determining a religious or linguistic minority can only be the State”, and decisively rejected the idea that minorities must be identified nationally. This judgment directly governs how an educational institution—and the community running it—can claim minority status under Article 30(1). It clarified that if a community is a minority in a particular State/UT, it can exercise Article 30 rights in that State/UT, even if it is a majority nationally.
After T.M.A. Pai judgment, several judgments of SC followed it that collectively solidified this principle. In P.A. Inamdar vs. State of Maharashtra, (2005) 6 SCC 537, the 7-judge Bench held that “The determination of ‘minority’ must be done State-wise as laid down in T.M.A. Pai Foundation.” The SC also held that the minority institution cannot violate merit or exclude. It was followed by judgment in Bal Patil & Anr. vs. Union of India, (2005) 6 SCC 690 in which the court reaffirmed that “The concept of minority has to be decided on a state basis.”
The constitutional changes affecting the status of J&K does not take away the right of J&K UT to declare minority institutions. Since 2019, J&K is no longer a State but a Union Territory with a legislature. Minority status is determined State-wise and applies to UTs as well. Article 30 applies equally to States and UTs because it is a Fundamental Right. There is no distinction in the Constitution excluding UTs from Article 30 protections. Constitutionally, such a UT is treated like a State for most operational, administrative, and legislative purposes. Religious minorities in the UT of J&K can claim Article 30 rights. An institution established by a religious minority in the UT can seek Minority Educational Institution (MEI) status.
Hindus, though a majority in India as a whole, is a minority in UT of J&K. In J&K, Hindu constituted 28.44 % of the total population of the State as against 68.31 % Muslim population as per 2011 census. In fact, on a larger issue, Hindus should have been declared a minority community, making them entitlement of benefits available to minorities in India. It is intriguing that despite the BJP Govt at the centre for 11 years and Central rule in J&K for years it was not thought of by the leaders.
As regards the issue of SMVDIME, there would not have been any problem in declaring it a Minority Institution. Post reorganisation, the jurisdiction of National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI)has been extended to J&K and Ladakh It can also be tapped for this purpose. Pre reorganisation, there were complications which no longer exist.
There are other factors that support SMVDIME for declaring Minority Institution. It is established, funded, and overseen by the SMVDSB, a statutory Hindu religious body; funded significantly through offerings of Hindu devotees and created with a welfare and service mandate tied to a major Hindu shrine.
In Jammu, there are two minority institutions in existence. One is the Acharya Shri Chander College of Medical Sciences (ASCOMS) commonly known as "Batra Medical College. It is a private Medical College managed by the Shri Chander Chinar Bada Akhara Udasin Society. The college was accorded Minority status in J&K State by the J&K Government vide Govt. Order No. 940-HME of 1997, dated 27.10.1997. By its MOU with the Health Department, 25% of the seats are reserved under the Hindu Minority quota against 50 % allowed under rules.
The other minority institution is Mahant Bachittar Singh College for Engineering and Technology. It has 50 % minority quota seats for Sikh students. Admission to both these Minority Educational Institutions are through the well laid down procedure of NEET/BOPEE.
It is not understood as to how these examples of Minority Educational Institutions escaped the attention of the management of newly established SMVDIME. Whatever has happened cannot be undone. However, future course of admission can be corrected by a framework that is anchored in religious ecosystems to operate by respecting the sentiments of Mata’s devotees and respecting religious and cultural sensitivity of the devotees and people. The College of Excellence must fulfil the vision of the Chairman of SMVDSB Shri Manoj Sinha by enhancing the healthcare of the region and promote the slogan "Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah, Sarve Santu Niramayah" (May all be happy, May all be free from illness). Nobody has any doubt in the wisdom of chairman and members of the Shrine Board in uphold the dignity of the Shrine and the devotees who sustain the college.
(The Author is a retired IAS officer, feedback: [email protected])
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