When blatant lies fail to make their point, some outlets resort to twisting facts or hiding inconvenient details to push their agenda. Recently, a storm erupted over claims that a majority of MBBS seats at the newly launched Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME) had been given to Muslim students.

The controversy began when, on 26th November, a piece in The Wire alleged that SMVDIME received a Rs 121 Crore grant from the Jammu and Kashmir government. According to The Wire, this funding came from “the only Muslim-majority government,” implying that a Hindu shrine-run medical institute was being supported by a Muslim-majority administration — and suggesting that Hindu critics should, therefore, not complain about Muslim students receiving more seats.

In its article titled: “Contrary to Hindutva Claims, Vaishno Devi Medical Institute Got Rs 121 Crore in J&K Govt Grants,” author Jehangir Ali asserts that “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 Wire goes on to argue that such grants prove the institute has government backing.

They list specific funds: “the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University received Rs 10 lakh ‘grants in aid’ from the J&K government in 2017-18; Rs 50 lakh in 2018-19; and Rs 5 crore in 2019-20. 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,” the article claims, adding that for the present fiscal year, the Jammu and Kashmir government has allocated “Rs 28 crore ‘grants in aid’ for the university.”

Excerpt taken from the relevant The Wire article

The Wire’s use of numbers to support a partial truth

According to The Wire, the total amount of government grants — they specify “grants-in-aid” — received by Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU), the parent body managing SMVDIME, adds up to Rs 121.30 crore since 2017-18. The underlying suggestion is that since SMVDU got money from the “Muslim-majority” government in Jammu and Kashmir, and SMVDU oversees SMVDIME, therefore the newly established SMVDIME is also benefiting from government funds — undermining claims that it is solely funded by Hindu devotees.

But while the figures about SMVDU’s grants are accurate, the key point is exactly that: those funds went to SMVDU, not to SMVDIME — the heart of the current dispute. SMVDIME, though academically affiliated with SMVDU, functions independently under the aegis of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB). The medical institute only began operations in November 2023, using SMVDU’s administrative block as a temporary location. Structurally, it remains separate from the university’s core funding and management systems. In short: there is no direct financial flow from SMVDU’s grants to SMVDIME.

Not a single rupee from those “grants-in-aid” was channelled toward building SMVDIME. If the author of The Wire article — who repeatedly stressed that “documents” and “data” backed his claims — had reviewed SMVDIME’s Detailed Project Report (DPR), they would have seen that the entire nearly Rs 600 crore cost of the medical institute was funded through Hindu pilgrim offerings and donations. That means there was no reliance on government grants or university funds for its construction, operation, or staff salaries.

Indeed, in SMVDIME’s 2025 submission to the National Medical Commission (NMC), it is clearly stated that the institute has received no financial support from the Union Territory administration. Instead, the funding comes from the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Charitable Society — itself financed by the Shrine Board — for establishing this new medical college in Katra. It becomes apparent that SMVDIME is built and run using donations from Hindu devotees alone, and not through any state backing.

Nowhere does The Wire supply any evidence showing that government grants intended for SMVDU were redirected to SMVDIME. Instead, the article picked selective data on university funding to challenge claims made by Hindu right-wing groups — while omitting clear facts about separate shrine funding. To date, the SMVDIME official website does not mention any grant from the Union Territory government or any diversion of SMVDU’s grants toward the new medical institute.

The use of numbers by The Wire might look convincing at first glance. But when you follow the money — and the institutional links — the picture changes. SMVDU’s government grants stayed within the university. SMVDIME — despite being under its academic umbrella — remains financially independent, built and run on voluntary shrine donations, not on state resources.

SMVDIME dispute – reality and many unanswered questions

Earlier this month, a major controversy broke out in Jammu and Kashmir over the first MBBS admission list of the newly opened Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME), located in Katra. Several social and political leaders raised serious doubts about the fairness of the selection process. Their concern came after it emerged that a large majority of students selected for MBBS did not belong to the Hindu community — even though the institute is allegedly built and funded entirely by donations from the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB), which is a Hindu religious organisation.

The hospital-cum-medical college was constructed with almost Rs 600 crore collected through donations by Hindu pilgrims. For many, this facility stood as a symbol of development inspired by faith and devotion. Yet, the admission results for the 2025-26 batch triggered anger and disbelief. Of the 50 students selected for MBBS, 42 are from the Muslim community, 7 are Hindus, and one is Sikh — a distribution that shocked a large section of devotees and leaders.

Soon, political figures from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) condemned the disproportionate representation. They demanded a full review of how admissions were handled by the Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examinations (JKBOPEE). Alongside them, Hindu-rights organisations like Jammu Rashtriya Bajrang Dal described the outcome as discriminatory. They pressed the Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, to intervene — if no corrective action was taken soon, they threatened mass protests.

Notably, in India’s constitution there is no provision allowing reservations based purely on religion. While some states may have minority sub-quotas tied to other categories, Jammu and Kashmir has no such system — and SMVDIME does not come under any government-mandated religious quota. This makes the heavy tilt towards Muslim students all the more puzzling, especially for devotees who contributed funds expecting representation to reflect the donor base.

Formally, neither SMVDIME nor its parent body, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU), qualifies as a minority or “deemed” university. SMVDU was established under a State Legislature Act passed in 1999 (the “Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University Act 1999”). It never sought deemed-university status, nor applied for minority institution classification. As a result, SMVDIME — which is funded by the shrine board but falls under the state university framework — is treated like any other government-controlled university when it comes to admissions, seat allocation, and reservation norms.

Because of this classification, the first MBBS batch at SMVDIME was admitted through JKBOPEE counselling — not via the national All-India Quota (AIQ) system managed by the Medical Counselling Committee.

Yet, many questions remain unanswered. Why didn’t SMVDIME adopt a policy giving institutional preference to Hindus — as is sometimes done in institutions run by religious minorities (for example, in Aligarh Muslim University or Baba Gulam Shah Badshah University)? Those institutions, despite being run by a religious minority, do not always enjoy minority-status quotas. Similarly, why was there no quota or reservation for the local districts — such as Reasi, Udhampur, or Jammu — when other institutions (e.g. BGBSU) include residency-based quotas for regions like Rajouri and Poonch?

Given that SMVDIME’s building and operations are funded by Hindu devotees’ donations, why did the shrine-board authorities not put in place a special admission framework to reflect that reality? And, crucially: will SMVDU and SMVDIME consider applying for “deemed university” status, or conversion into a central university — or will they continue under the state-controlled model?

Until these questions are addressed and transparent explanations are provided, the situation remains: a medical institute built and funded by Hindu devotees, managed by a Hindu shrine board — yet controlled under a government-designated university system — and enrolling far more Muslim students than Hindus. Meanwhile, the claim by The Wire that SMVDIME is funded by the “Muslim-majority” Jammu and Kashmir government (because SMVDU receives grants-in-aid from the UT administration) appears false and misleading.