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| Communalising Education Undermines India’s Pluralist Ethos | | Says JKSA on NMC’s Revocation of SMVD Medical College Recognition |
Jammu, January 07 (Scoop News)- The Jammu & Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) on Wednesday expressed deep concern over the revocation of the Mata Vaishno Devi Medical College’s recognition by the National Medical Commission. The Association stated that this decision marks yet another erosion of the country’s secular and inclusive ethos and raises troubling questions about the growing fragility of our institutional systems.
National Convenor of the Association, Nasir Khuehami, said that whether this action has been taken under duress or driven by ideological conviction, it reflects a disturbing trend in which critical institutions of education and healthcare are increasingly exposed to pressure, arbitrariness, and politicisation. He asserted that medical education cannot be reduced to a casualty of ideological extremes, nor can public health be held hostage to selective moral posturing. Such approaches, he said, undermine institutional credibility, erode public trust, and harm the larger national interest.
Khuehami further stated that India’s civilisational heritage rests on shared culture, coexistence, and pluralism; often described as Ganga–Jamuni Tehzeeb. Any attempt to inject communal boundaries into education strikes at the very foundation of this ethos. He recalled that when the Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly passed the Bill establishing Mata Vaishno Devi University, nowhere did it state, imply, or envisage that admissions would be restricted to a single religion. Introducing such exclusions now, he said, is unlawful, violates legislative intent, and represents a direct assault on the secular character of education. Education, he emphasised, cannot and must not be criminalised under any pretext.
He also placed on record that documents clearly establish that Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, which manages the medical institute, has received substantial and increasing government financial support over the years. The university has received crores of rupees in public funding over the past several years, conclusively demonstrating that the institution does not function on donations alone. As a publicly funded institution, it is therefore constitutionally obligated to adhere to national regulatory frameworks, statutory norms, and principles governing medical education.
Emphasising the human cost of such decisions, Khuehami said that the careers of students cannot be held hostage to polarisation or ideological brinkmanship. Hindus are not a minority community in India, and Mata Vaishno Devi Medical College does not qualify as a minority institution under Article 30 of the Constitution.
Consequently, it is bound to follow the admission framework laid down by the National Medical Commission and NEET guidelines, both of which categorically prohibit religious filtering or exclusion in medical admissions. He asserted that demands by certain groups to declare SMVDIME a Hindu-only or minority institution in order to reserve MBBS seats exclusively on religious lines are unconstitutional, legally untenable, and ethically indefensible, he said.
The Association also strongly rejected the selective outrage and communal framing being advanced by vested interests. It stated that Muslim-run institutions across Jammu & Kashmir and the country, despite receiving institutional or Waqf Board assistance, have consistently upheld secular and inclusive admission policies.
Universities such as the Islamic University of Science & Technology and the Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University have, without exception, admitted students from all religious backgrounds without discrimination. This reality, the Association said, exposes the hollowness and double standards underlying attempts to communalise SMVDIME under the garb of faith or identity, it added.
Association reiterated that institutions entrusted with regulating education and healthcare must function with transparency, consistency, and constitutional responsibility. Any action that undermines access to medical education, destabilises healthcare infrastructure, or creates fear and uncertainty among students ultimately harms the nation at a much larger level.
The Association firmly believes that safeguarding medical institutions from ideological interference is essential to protecting both the future of aspiring students and the integrity of India’s healthcare system.
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