Excelsior Correspondent
KATRA/REASI, Nov 14: A major protest broke out in Katra today over the admission process of the maiden MBBS batch (2025–26) at the newly established Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Medical (SMVDM) College, after reports surfaced that 42 out of the 50 admitted students belong to a particular community.
Several Hindu organisations, including the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal, staged demonstrations demanding reservation for Hindu candidates in the medical institution.
Protestors gathered in large numbers, burning an effigy of the Chief Executive Officer of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and calling for an immediate rollback of the existing admission list.
Speaking on the occasion, Karan Singh, VHP leader stated that the institute is funded entirely through donations made by Hindu pilgrims visiting the Vaishno Devi shrine and therefore should provide reservation similar to other minority-run institutions.
“On the lines of reservation provided in AMU, Guru Nanak Dev University and BGSB University, we demand that Hindus should be given 90% reservation in Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Medical College,” he said.
Protestors alleged discrepancies in the guidelines of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Charitable Society, arguing that if government-funded universities like AMU, Baba Ghulam Shah Budshah University (BGSBU) and Guru Nanak Dev University are permitted to implement community-based reservation policies, similar provisions should apply to SMVDM as well.
“If institutions funded by taxpayers can provide reservation to specific communities, why has the Hindu community been denied the same when the college runs purely on donations by Hindu devotees?” one protestor questioned.
The demonstrators further demanded complete cancellation of the current admission list and urged the Shrine Board to revise its rules to include reservation for Hindu students.
A similar protest was also held in Reasi, where local organisations reiterated the call for a review of admission norms and the introduction of reservation for Hindu candidates.
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