By Joseph Maliakan
Betrand Russel, plilosopher and logician was arrested in 1961 at the ripe age of 89 for his involvement in an anti-nuclear weapons demonstration. He was charged with the breach of the peace and after refusing to be of good behaviour , was sentenced to Brixton Prison , which he served in the prison’s hospital. His imprisonment alongwith with his wife’s raised significant public awareness for the anti-nuclear movement .
At the prison the warden filling the entry form asked Russel what his religion was, Russel replied ” agnostic”. Exclaimed the warden ” Oh yet another religion ! “.
As if in our country we do not have enough divisions , disputes and controversies in the name of caste , creed , language , gender and religion the Jammu and Kashmir unit ofthe Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ) has invented yet another controversy in the matter of merit based admission to the SHRI Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence ( SMVDIME ).
The controversy arose after the admission of 50 students to the first batch of the MBBS course by the Institute of Medical Excellence on the basis of the result of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET ) to the 2025 -26 academic session . Of the 50 students admitted solely on the criterion of merit 42 were Muslims from Kashmir 7 Hindus from Jammu and 1 Sikh.
The National Medical Mission ( NMM) had earlier rejected a proposal by the Vishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence, Katra seeking to place 100 percent of its MBBS seats under the All India Quota to be filled through the Medical Councilling Committe (MCC ).The Institute’s request to the NMC came following protests after it was revealed that the majority of the students who were eligible for admission on merit belonged to the Muslim community. Already 36 candidates from Kashmir and three cadidates from Jammu have taken admission.
The protests supported by the Udhampur BJP MLA, is also backed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajarang Dal. The protesters have very strangely argued in violation of the existing statutes and rules of the Institute of Excellence admisiions to the Institute should not be done on merit and should not be dominated by Muslim students irrespective of merit because the insitute is built with donations from the devotees of Vishano Devi who are Hindus.
The protesters have also demanded reservations for Hindu students at the Institute of Medical Excellence. However , since the Vishano Devi Institute of Excellence is not a Minority Institution under current rules and regulations it is impossible to reserve any seats for Hindus even though they are a minority in Jammu and Kashmir. Under the existing bylaws of the Institute 85 percent seats are reserved for the students from the State and the remaining 15 percent are left for the All – India Quota.
On Tuesday , 2 December a number of prominent Hindu academics of Jammu defended the Institute Administration for making admissions purely on the basis of merit and not based on religion .Retired Zonal Education Officer, Bimala Sharma , recipient of a National Teacher Award regretted that the students of the Jammu andKashmir were being divided on the basis of religion. It is very unfortunate that a section of people were trying to sacrifice the future of talented NEET qualified students on the basis of religion. ” The students have got admission on the basis of merit and they have every right to complete their studies ,” she added.
Dr.Himla Sharma former Principal of Government Degree College , Parade pointed out that since the admissions were made as per the regulations of the National Medical Commission and the NEET regulations the students should be allowed to pursue their studies without any outside interference .Tinkering with well laid out procedure for admission will ruin the entire education system in the state , Aggarwal warned.
Kashmiri Hindu Social Activist and spokesman of the Nationalist Congress Party ( NCP ) , Engineer Rishi Kaul said that division on the basis of religion in education is totally unacceptable.” Education should not have anything to do with religious beliefs it is highly inappropriate to give this issue a political or religious colour ,” he added.
The Congress Party accused the BJP for giving a communal colour to the issue of admissions to the Vishno Devi Institue of Medical Excellence to cover it’s failures . The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee Chief Spokesman Ravinder Sharma said the Union government led by the BJP was responsible for creating the communal devide in the state .” When there was no illegality in the allotment of seats in medical education then where was the need to raise the issue of religion .” he wondered.
Omar Abdullah, the Chief Minster of Jammu and Kashmir asserted that admission to medical colleges must be based on merit as determined by examinations like the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test and not on a student’s religion. He further argued that the Indian Constitution and the State Act that established the Sri Mata Vishno Devi University do not permit the distribution of seats along religious lines.
Responding to demands made by right wing Hindu organisations that seats should be reserved for Hindu students in the Institute Umar Addillah said that it should return all government grants and free land provided to it and change its status tio a minority institution.
Abdullah warned that denying admission to meritorious students based on their faith could have negative social consequences and potentially push them towards radicalism.
Ends…
