India Shuts Kashmir Medical College Amid Protests Over Muslim Admissions

India's Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDMI) in Jammu has been shut down after protests erupted over the high number of Muslim students in its inaugural MBBS batch. The college, founded by a Hindu religious charity, was set up with government funding but faced backlash when 42 out of 50 new medical students were Muslim.

The protests, led by right-wing Hindu groups, called for the revocation of Muslim students' admissions, citing the college's affiliation with the Mata Vaishno Devi Temple and claiming that Muslim students had "no business being there." In response, the National Medical Commission (NMC) revoked the college’s accreditation on January 6, citing critical deficiencies in infrastructure, though many students and observers dispute this claim.

Critics argue that the closure is a politically motivated move, playing into communal tensions, and an attack on merit-based education. The incident has sparked widespread condemnation, with politicians and analysts accusing the protests of turning merit into a religious issue.

Saniya Jan*, a student who was enrolled in the college, expressed disappointment and fear for her future, stating, “They turned our merit into religion.”

The situation has added to the ongoing debate over the politicization of education and the growing communal divide in India.