Don’t count faith to kill a college, lot at stake

A medical college in Katra that got the National Medical Commission’s green signal to run an MBBS course just four months ago is now asked to shut it down, four days after an inspection conducted in haste. The latest NMC decision unabashedly short-circuited due process — there was no show-cause notice to the college, no room for appeals. The volte-face tells a dismal story of prejudice and intolerance — and the pandering to it — in defiance of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to equality and protects against discrimination. While the NMC justifies its action by pointing to a shortage of tutors, library resources and lecture theatres, it is clear that the real reason lies elsewhere. The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME) had become the staging ground for protests ever since 44 of the first batch of 50 students in its MBBS course turned out to be Muslim. This was the result of a national exam administered fairly and freely. But for a group of nearly 60 pro-RSS and pro-BJP organisations, this wasn’t the result they wanted — these groups argue the college was set up with donations to the Vaishno Devi shrine by Hindu pilgrims from across the country. And this should reflect in the faith of the incoming class.

That these groups should ask for the ouster of students of a particular religion from the classroom, and that the statutory regulatory body for medical education and practice in the country should take heed of their perverse demand and discontinue the course entirely, is enormously disturbing. The cost of the NMC’s cave-in will be borne by the students, of course, and by the faculty at SMVDIME. But there is a greater price to be paid. Ever since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, the BJP-led government at the Centre has spoken of a “Naya Kashmir”, more intimately integrated with the larger India story, and less weighed down by its turbulent history. In their speeches, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have underlined that promise. The NMC decision poses a question mark against those assurances. It threatens to stoke distrust among the people of Kashmir.

The institution needs to knock on the court’s door before more damage is done. The NMC needs to read the Constitution. It makes space for the establishment of minority educational institutions to preserve a language or religion, but for the rest, there can be no headcount, no discrimination and no exclusions, in the classroom. To scatter these students in other colleges is a violation of their rights — you cannot be equal if you are kept separate. What is happening in the Katra college goes against the constitutional letter and spirit, it’s a stain not only on the idea of “Naya Kashmir” but also on that of the nation. The sooner it is reversed, the better.

Overall Analysis

The editorial strongly criticises the National Medical Commission’s abrupt decision to shut down an MBBS course at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence. The writer frames the issue as not merely administrative failure but a deeper constitutional and moral crisis. The language is firm, morally charged, and deliberately accusatory, highlighting how due process was “short-circuited” and how prejudice appears to have overridden merit and law.

The editorial exposes the contradiction between the NMC’s stated reasons—shortage of infrastructure and faculty—and the underlying communal pressure triggered by the religious composition of the admitted students. By stressing that admissions were conducted through a national exam administered fairly, the author reinforces the principle of meritocracy. Words such as “pandering,” “perverse demand,” and “cave-in” reveal the author’s disapproval of the state yielding to sectarian pressure.

The argument is widened beyond the college to the larger political promise of a “Naya Kashmir.” The editorial uses this phrase strategically to question the credibility of official assurances about integration, equality, and trust-building in the region after the abrogation of Article 370. The language here is cautionary, warning that such actions risk alienating citizens and deepening mistrust.

In the concluding section, the editorial invokes the Constitution as the ultimate moral and legal authority. The assertion “you cannot be equal if you are kept separate” is a crisp, powerful line that encapsulates the argument against segregation in education. The closing sentence delivers a clear call for reversal, using urgency without resorting to emotional excess.

Important Vocabulary (5)

1. Volte-face – a complete reversal of position or policy.
2. Pandering – catering to prejudices or base demands to gain support.
3. Perverse – unreasonable or unacceptable, often deliberately so.
4. Abrogation – the formal repeal or annulment of a law or agreement.
5. Ouster – forced removal of a person from a position or place.

Conclusion & Tone

The editorial concludes that shutting down the course on communal grounds is a violation of constitutional values and a betrayal of both students’ rights and national ideals. It warns that such actions damage trust in institutions and undermine the promise of equality.

Tone: Strongly critical, constitutionally grounded, and morally assertive.