Jammu and Kashmir should have been a singular, unified entity not only in terms of geography but also in spirit. Sadly, the vector of polarisation has ensured that over the years a hyphen — the proverbial great divide — has separated Hindu-dominated Jammu from Muslim-dominated Kashmir. Recently, the National Medical Commission withdrew its permission to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence on account of ‘regulatory non-compliance’. For instance, there have been protests in Jammu against a proposal to set up a law university in Kashmir: Jammu, incidentally, was allotted an Indian Institute of Technology and an Indian Institute of Management in 2016. The religious fault line between Jammu and Kashmir appears to run across the length and the breadth of the republic.

Source: The Telegraph January 14, 2026 03:02 UTC