Withdrawal of Permission, Systematising Exclusion
24 January 2026 | Economic and Political Weekly
The National Medical Commission (NMC) withdrew its letter of permission to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME) to run a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme on 6 January 2026. While the NMC cited “non-compliance of minimum standards,” the decision follows protests by Hindu right-wing organisations over 42 Muslim candidates from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), qualifying for the first batch of students, out of a total of 50 advertised seats. The entire chain of events surrounding the closure of the medical college in J&K has dire implications for not just the secular credentials of the institutions involved but also for the state of minority rights and social justice.