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The VHP and Bajrang Dal demanded that the Shri Mata Vaishnodevi Institute of Medical Excellence scrap the admission list for its first batch of students, 90% of whom are Muslims.
RSS-affiliated outfits protesting outside the Shri Mata Vaishnodevi Institute of Medical Excellence in Katra. (Photo: X)
Outfits affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have launched protests in the Jammu region, demanding that the Shri Mata Vaishnodevi Institute of Medical Excellence scrap the admission list for its first batch of students, 90% of whom are Muslims belonging to Kashmir.
BJP’s MLA from Udhampur, RS Pathania, has lent support to the protests backed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal, arguing that an institution that has been set up by donations offered to the Vaishno Devi shrine should not be dominated by the Muslim community, and that seats should be reserved for Hindus, according to The Indian Express.
However, this would not be possible as the medical college is not classified as a minority institute. Despite this, the VHP and Bajrang Dal have held demonstrations outside the Katra-based institute and even burnt the effigy of the Chief Executive Officer of the Vaishno Devi Shrine Board.
What Started The Controversy?
The row began after the J&K Board of Professional Entrance Examinations (JKBOPEE) cleared a list of 50 candidates for the Vaishnodevi medical institute, of whom 42 were from Kashmir and eight from Jammu. Out of these students, 36 have already taken admission, and three from Jammu followed suit.
Rajesh Gupta, VHP’s J&K president, said admissions for 2025–26 should be paused and the college should correct its “mistake” in its earlier decision by ensuring that most students selected next year are Hindus. Bajrang Dal’s J&K President Rakesh Bajrangi alleged bias on the part of the JKBOPEE in preparing the list.
Bajrangi said the management of the board should have instead made admissions from the central NEET pool, which had candidates from all over India, as the college had been set up from donations by pilgrims across the country.
“We have no objection to candidates from Kashmir taking admission in any other medical college, but seats should be reserved for Hindu candidates in the Vaishnodevi college, as it has come up with Vaishno Devi shrine donations,” he added.
BJP MLA Pathania said the medical college did not take a single penny from the government and runs on donations made by the Vaishno Devi pilgrims. Hence, seats should be reserved for Hindu students as the issue involves the faith of pilgrims, he contended.
Vaishnodevi College Admissions
The National Conference’s Jammu province president, Rattan Lal Gupta, put the blame on the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, saying it should have applied for a minority status. As it did not do so, JKBOPEE had to select students based on the merit obtained by them in NEET, with most students happening to be from the Muslim community.
Officials told The Indian Express that the admissions were in order, and as per National Medical Council (NMC) guidelines, which specify that admissions to all the 1,685 seats in the 13 medical colleges of J&K be done as per the NEET list. The admissions for the Vaishnodevi college began late, and the first admission list was prepared after a third round of counselling.
JKBOPEE shortlisted 5,865 UT-domiciled candidates for 13 medical colleges and invited 2,000 for counselling, of whom 70% were from the Muslim community. On the other hand, 87 candidates from Jammu took admission in the five government medical colleges in Kashmir, most of them being reserved for SCs/STs, EWS and residents of areas along the Line of Control and International Border.
Officials told the daily that the pattern was not new, as most of the 900 seats in the Jammu region have been taken up by students from Kashmir in the past few years. In the case of engineering seats, most of them are generally occupied by students from Jammu.
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international…Read More
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international… Read More
Jammu, India, India
November 20, 2025, 18:53 IST
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