The National Medical Commission (NMC) has canceled the recognition of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Medical College, Jammu. The Commission has attributed this to serious violation of minimum standards. Existing MBBS students will be transferred to other recognized medical colleges. This college was already surrounded by controversies. The allegation was that out of 50 seats, 42 were given to Muslim students, while Hindu students got only seven seats and Sikh students got one seat. This sparked protests from Hindu organisations, who argued that since the college is funded by donations from devotees of Mata Vaishno Devi, priority should be given to Hindu students.
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti, comprising 60 social and right-wing organisations, initially demanded cancellation of the admission list. When this was not possible, he insisted on closing the college. The committee argued that the benefits of donations to Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine should primarily go to Hindus. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also suggested closing the colleges. He said, “It is better to close this medical college. I want the health ministry to make arrangements for these students to continue their studies in other colleges.”
Although NMC cited violation of rules as the reason for cancellation of recognition, many people are considering it as a victory for the struggle committee. A member of the committee said, “Closing the college was the best option; otherwise, bigger problems would have arisen.” Now the process of transferring students to other colleges has started.