For a week now, the Jammu region has been in the grip of seething anger as right wing groups demand the expulsion of all Kashmiri and Sikh students from the Mata Vaishno Devi Medical College following the heinous terrorist attack near Red Fort in Delhi on November 10, 2025. The Vishva Hindu Parishad was the first to raise this demand and has since mobilized opinion among select groups, a campaign that has now received open endorsement from the Bharatiya Janata Party. Several BJP leaders have even met Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to push the issue further.
What is most disturbing, however, is that the Leader of the Opposition in the Jammu & Kashmir Assembly also chose to support this ludicrous and dangerous demand.
The erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir — a politically complicated entity since its very inception — has often been pitted against itself along regional lines to advance divisive agendas. Yet, despite these repeated political assaults, the region survived because of its social fabric, its shared economic interests, and its remarkable cultural and religious diversity. That diversity is not a weakness; it is the strength that ensured its continuity.
Among the institutions that embody this spirit is Mata Vaishno Devi University, whose foundational principle has been to open its doors to all, irrespective of region or religion. The present demand to make the university “homogeneous” and erase its diversity is not only regressive — it is a socially catastrophic mindset that ultimately hurts Jammu more than anyone else.
Worse, the demand to reserve the medical institute exclusively for one community is legally untenable, socially unacceptable, and politically polarizing.
Jammu today is emerging as a major hub of higher education. Its universities bring economic dividends to local residents and elevate the stature of the “City of Temples” into a vibrant centre of learning. Diversity is not a threat to this aspiration — it is the very ingredient that makes a university world-class. As these institutes expand and mature, Jammu’s future prosperity will depend on its ability to remain inclusive.
It is equally important to remember that the Mata Vaishno Devi University Act, passed by the J&K Assembly, nowhere restricts admission to any particular community. The Act places its faith in merit, competition, and academic excellence — values the institution has upheld for decades. While the Shrine Board contributes to its finances, the university also receives significant funding from the public exchequer, just like IUST, BGSBU, and other state and central institutions.
On the political front, the BJP today enjoys robust backing from both the Centre and the Raj Bhawan, giving it substantial room to mount a strong challenge to the Omar Abdullah–led government. Yet the party has largely failed to pin the government down on governance issues. Omar Abdullah’s administration has already shown signs of fatigue — most notably the loss of the Budgam seat to the PDP — and public dissatisfaction is rising. In this context, the demand to scrap admissions at MVDC appears more political than religious — an attempt to galvanize a polarized vote base rather than address genuine grievances. History offers a reminder: in 2008, the BJP initially backed the economic blockade against Kashmir, only to retreat after Jammu’s traders suffered heavy economic losses. Those wounds should not be forgotten.
The current Leader of the Opposition began his role commendably, traversing corners of Kashmir and earning acceptance among many who rejected Omar Abdullah in the 2024 election. That spirit of democratic engagement must not be compromised now.
Let the politics of governance prevail over the politics of provocation. Let the region focus on common interests, shared prosperity, and mutual respect. Jammu stands at a pivotal moment — and it must choose a future built on unity, not exclusion.
Asem Mohiuddin is an Editor-in- Chief of The Legitimate
