After row over admitting Muslim students, protesters seek closure of Vaishno Devi medical college

Various Hindu groups have argued that an institute financed by the Vaishno Devi Shrine Board should reflect greater Hindu representation and have demanded that the SMVDIME be designated as a “minority institution” so that reservation is provided to the community.

Chanting Hanuman Chalisa, the youth wing of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangarsh Samiti on Tuesday held a dharna near the civil secretariat in Jammu, demanding the immediate closure of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME).

Expressing concern over the admission of Muslim students from Kashmir — nearly 90% of the batch is from the Valley — in the medical college established by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, the protesters demanded that it be immediately shut down. They said offerings made by Hindu devotees from across the country should be utilised only for the development of Hindu shrines and the upliftment of members of that community.

The protesters also demanded that money donated by Hindu pilgrims not be spent on running commercial establishments such as medical colleges or hospitals, where “lakhs of rupees” are charged from students and patients.

The Sangarh Samiti, a conglomerate of nearly 60 pro-Sangh Parivar organisations, including the Sanatan Dharm Sabha, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and Bajrang Dal, was initially formed to spearhead an agitation against the admission of students of Kashmiri Muslim students in the newly set up SMVDIME near Katra.

The Sangarsh Samiti had initially demanded reservation of all seats in the medical college for Hindu students. It wanted that all students from Kashmir, who got admission in SMVDIME on the basis of their comparative merit in the NEET exam, be moved to other medical colleges.

The Sangarsh Samiti’s convenor, Colonel Sukhvir Mankotia (retd), warned of intensifying the ongoing agitation, saying that their women’s wing would hold a protest on Thursday, and thereafter, their ex-servicemen’s wing would come on the road to press the demand. If the government does not agree to its demands, the Samiti will organise “chakka jam” at all district headquarters across Jammu, and thereafter call for a Jammu bandh, he said.