Jammu and Kashmir Governor Manoj Sinha. File | Photo credit: PTI
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha has accepted a BJP memorandum seeking to scrap MBBS admission list with maximum number of Muslim qualifiers and reservation of all seats for Hindus in Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU), Katra. The move drew sharp reactions from J&K parties, including the ruling National Conference (NC).
A five-member BJP delegation led by senior BJP leader Sunil Sharma, who is also the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly, met Mr. Sinha at the Raj Bhavan in Jammu on Saturday evening. The delegation sought Mr. Sinha’s intervention to amend the rules of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and reserve seats in the university for Hindus only.
“Most of the students in the admission list this year are from one particular community. We have protested against that. The university is a religious institution and people have faith and belief in it. Every devotee donates to this religious institution with the wish to see their faith propagated. But the board and the university have not considered the faith. We have made it clear that LG will get admission,” only those who have faith in Mata Vaish said.
‘division memorandum’
The BJP and several right-wing parties in Jammu are up in arms against the admission list, in which 42 of the 50 qualified students are Muslims. “This year’s admit list is not acceptable to us. We have sought changes in the rules of the admission process. Only those who have been able to establish dedicated values should be allowed entry,” Mr. Sharma added.
The move by the LG, who is also the chairman of the board, drew sharp reactions from several political parties. “It is unfortunate that the LG passed such a divisive and communal memorandum. Across the country, students of all religions are studying in minority institutions. Many Hindu students are studying in Aligarh Muslim University and the same is true of Jamia Millia Islamia. No one has ever raised any objection,” said NC spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar.
Another NC leader and legislator Tanvir Sadiq accused the BJP of “communalisation of institutions” and “dividing society”. “If hospitals, schools, universities and medical schools start making admission decisions based on religion, what kind of country will we become? Tomorrow, will a patient be treated according to his faith? Will merit be pushed aside to satisfy the demands of the majority? That is a recipe for disaster,” Sadiq said.
“Communalization of Education”
He said the BJP’s stance on admissions where selections are based on merit was not only misguided but also dangerous. “A sanctuary-funded institution does not become a religion-based institution. Donations cannot be turned into tools of discrimination. Do not turn our institutions into a battleground of faith for your petty political gains. You are building a ticking time bomb that, if it explodes, will create a chasm that no one will ever be able to mend. Communalization of health and education is fundamentally wrong. It is damaging to poisonous politics that must stop tomorrow, and that is today committed.” said Mr. Sadiq.
This new number of students admitted in Vaishno Devi University Medical College. This is too much of a stretch. BJP is now experimenting with the concept of communalization of medical sciences. I just hope they understand that there is a proper entrance test called NEET. And that…
— Sajad Lone (@sajadlone) November 23, 2025
Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti called the BJP’s move “shameful”. “In Naya Kashmir, discrimination against Muslims now extends to education as well. The irony is that this anti-Muslim apartheid is being legitimized and implemented in India’s only Muslim majority state with a single Muslim chief minister,” Mufti said.
J&K Peoples Conference (JKPC) president Sajad Lone said the BJP is experimenting with the concept of communalisation of medical sciences. “There is a regular entrance test called NEET and it is an all-India test. The best brains in the country take this exam and those who get selected work hard to become doctors. The best brains go further. They become part of research and come up with new ideas to beat diseases. We need to get the best brains and enable a culture of research and innovation. Medical science needs researchers, not religious fanatics,” Lonealots said.
J&K Apni Party President Altaf Bukhari said the fringe elements protesting the confession reflected frustration and flawed logic. “However, it is shocking and deeply disturbing to see figures like Sunil Sharma and other BJP leaders echoing the same tone and tenor as these fringe elements on this issue,” Mr Bukhari said.
He said how can a reputed institution discriminate against students because of their religion. “If this logic is applied to institutions like Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University (BGSBU) or Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) tomorrow, forcing them to admit only students from one community, what will it do to our social harmony and secular values? Is this really the kind of society we want to build?” he added.
Mr. Bukhari said this thinking reflected the ideology once championed by leaders like Jinnah — an ideology that had caused lasting damage to the subcontinent. “I put my trust in the wisdom of the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary to steer this matter in the right direction,” he said.
Published – 23 Nov 2025 19:35 IST
