Srinagar: Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Hindu right-wing groups have been claiming that the the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence was operating without any funding from the country’s only Muslim-majority government, documents show that the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi (SMVD) University which runs the institute continued to receive official financial support even when the erstwhile state was bifurcated and downgraded into two Union Territories.

The university got Rs 10 lakh ‘grants in aid' from the J&K government in 2017-18. The grants increased significantly from Rs 50 lakh in 2018-19 to Rs 5 crore in 2019-20 when J&K’s special status was struck down by the BJP-led Union government.

In the post 2019 period, J&K’s budgets were approved by the parliament until last year when the first elected government of the Union Territory of J&K led by Omar Abdullah was sworn into office. 

From Rs 19.70 crore in 2020-21, budget documents show that the J&K government grants to the Vaishno Devi University consistently increased from Rs 21 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 23 crore in 2022-23, Rs 24 crore in 2023-24 and Rs 24 crore in 2024-25. 

For the present financial year, the J&K government has approved Rs 28 crore ‘grants in aid’ for the university, budget documents show. 

The medical institute in Reasi district of Jammu is at the centre of a raging storm in J&K after the BJP backed the call of some Sangh Parivar affiliates to reserve the MBBS quota of 50 seats at the institute for Hindus only.

The right-wing groups have claimed that the institute runs with the donations of Hindu devotees, however, official documents show that it is managed by the multi-disciplinary SMVD University which received Rs 121.30 crore ‘grants-in-aid’ from J&K government since 2017-18.

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The University of Kashmir and the University of Jammu which manage the government medical colleges in Srinagar and Jammu respectively among some other educational institutions also received ‘grants in aid’ from the J&K government during this time period. 

The Comptroller and Auditor General defines ‘grants-in-aid’ as “financial assistance, donations or contributions” which are given by the Centre and state governments to universities, hospitals, co-operative institutions and others “for meeting their day-to-day operating expenses”.

These grants are classified under three separate object heads – ‘Grants-in-aid General’, ‘Grants for creation of Capital Assets’ and ‘Grants-in-aid Salaries’. 

The process of providing ‘grants-in-aid’ to the university started in 2017 when the saffron party was in power in Jammu and Kashmir state along with the Peoples Democratic Party-led government headed by Mehbooba Mufti.

Last week, the medical institute was stormed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Rashtriya Bajrang Dal and other Hindu rightwing affiliates who demanded expulsion of 42 Muslim students, mostly from Kashmir who were selected for MBBS at the institute based on their NEET rankings. 

J&K BJP leaders led by the Leader of opposition Sunil Sharma later presented a memorandum to lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha demanding reservation of the seats in the institute for Hindu students only, a move which was condemned by all the political parties in the Union Territory.

J&K chief minister Abdullah on Tuesday (November 25) said that Sharma should push the BJP-led Union government to declare the university as a minority institution. “But do keep in mind your role when you raise fingers on Muslims and allege that they have become communal, sectarian and do not tolerate others,” he said.

Article 30 of the Constitution and the Supreme Court guidelines empower the country’s minorities to set up their own educational institutions where up to 50% seats can be reserved for students from that particular community. 

However, SMVD University is not a minority institution.

Built on a 34-acre land parcel owned by the SMVD shrine board, the medical institute was allowed by the National Medical Commission on September 8 this year to open admissions for 50 MBBS seats for the 2025-26 academic session. 

According to its official website, the institute is planning to expand to 100 MBBS seat capacity by the third year and would also set up a dental college and a paramedical college. Among the faculty members presently working at the institute, some are Muslims. 

Hitting out at the BJP, senior National Conference (NC) leader Tanvir Sadiq said that the grants received by the university from J&K government, “clearly proves the institution (medical institute) isn’t running on donations alone”. 

“And when public money is involved, every citizen of this UT has an equal right to be there - irrespective of religion or background,” Sadiq, the NC’s chief spokesperson, said in a post on X. 

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