A major controversy has erupted in Jammu & Kashmir after the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB)–funded Medical College in Katra allotted an overwhelming 84% of its MBBS seats to non-Hindu students. Hindu organisations, supported by BJP MLA Sunil Sharma, staged large-scale demonstrations across Jammu, accusing the Board of betraying Hindu devotees and discriminating against Hindus in an institution built from their own donations.
The college, officially known as Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME), was established and funded entirely through contributions made by devotees to the Shrine Board. Reports reveal that of the 50 seats in the inaugural batch, 42 were allotted to Muslim students, with only 7 going to Hindu (including one Sikh) candidates.
Protestors gathered in Katra and Jammu, chanting slogans such as “Chor hai bhai chor hai, Shrine Board chor hai” and “Hindu paisa, Hindu ka adhikar.” They demanded a fixed quota for Hindu students and accountability from the Shrine Board. MLA Sunil Sharma also criticised the Board, saying, “A Hindu-funded institution cannot be turned into a playground of pseudo-secular experiments. The Board must explain who it truly serves.”
The Shrine Board, however, defended itself by claiming that admissions were based purely on merit and as per the National Medical Commission (NMC) norms. Officials stated that since the institution is not recognised as a minority college, religion-based reservations cannot be applied.
But that explanation has done little to calm the outrage.
Hindu Devotees Betrayed by Sickular Mismanagement
For many Hindus, the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine is not merely a temple; it is sacred ground, sanctified by faith and sustained by devotion. Every rupee spent on the shrine, the hospital, and the medical college originates from the offerings of Hindu devotees. It is, therefore, both unjust and deeply insulting that a college funded by their donations overwhelmingly benefits those who neither share the faith nor contribute to the institution’s sustenance.
This is not secularism, it is sickularism. Only Hindus are expected to be “secular” even in their own religious institutions, while others proudly guard their religious identity and are still celebrated for it. In any other context, such blatant disregard for donor intent would be deemed unethical. But when it comes to Hindus, the same is labelled “inclusive.”
Government Control Has Hollowed the Shrine Board
The root of the problem lies in the Shrine Board’s structure itself. Created under the J&K Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Act (1986), the Board is chaired by the Lieutenant Governor, a government appointee, and staffed largely by bureaucrats. It is, in essence, a state-controlled religious trust, not a body of devotees.
This bureaucratic setup has stripped Hindus of control over one of their most revered shrines. The Board is supposed to safeguard the sanctity of Mata Vaishno Devi’s name and ensure her devotees’ contributions are used for their welfare. Instead, it has turned into a machine of administrative apathy, accountable to no one, guided by no faith, and apparently detached from the very people whose devotion funds its existence.
Such government interference has led to what can only be described as a breach of trust. Donations made with devotion to the Divine Mother are now being channelled into ventures that alienate her very followers. This is not inclusion; it is disenfranchisement under the garb of secular governance.
Hindus Must Reclaim What Is Theirs
In a state where Hindus are already a minority, this episode has struck a raw nerve. The outrage is not about seats alone; it is about ownership, representation, and dignity. When even a Hindu temple’s donations cannot guarantee that Hindus will benefit from them, it exposes the structural bias that plagues the management of Hindu institutions.
Temples and shrine boards should be managed by devotees, saints, and community representatives, not bureaucrats and “secular” administrators who neither understand nor respect the faith they oversee. The time has come for Hindus to reclaim control over their temples and institutions, as every other community already does without question.
The Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board controversy is not an isolated case; it is a symbol of how faith can be eroded when bureaucratic secularism overrides spiritual accountability. If this continues, Hindus will remain mere donors, never decision-makers, in their own sacred spaces.
Faith must not be managed by those who do not believe in it. It must be protected, preserved, and directed by those who live it.
