Celebrations broke out among sections of Hindus in Jammu on Wednesday over a “victory” that appeared to be extinguishing a flame in the region to prevent Muslims from enjoying its warmth.

The National Medical Commission’s Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) on Tuesday evening withdrew the letter of permission granted to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence to run an MBBS course for 50 students in the current academic year, effectively bringing the curtains down on the college in the short run.

Hundreds of people, including women, hit the streets in Jammu to the beating of drums to celebrate the decision.

The college was started with much fanfare last year but the celebrations in Jammu took a bitter turn when, following the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), 42 of the 50 seats were taken by Muslims from Kashmir. Seven were Hindu and one was a Sikh.

Right-wing and civil rights groups formed the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti, backed by the BJP, to launch a massive campaign against the admissions, arguing that the large Muslim presence went against their faith as the college was purportedly run on donations collected from Hindu devotees. Chief minister Omar Abdullah, however, contended it was built on state land and received state funds.

An NMC order said the permission was withdrawn on the basis of a recent surprise inspection that showed serious deficiencies in faculty strength, clinical material and infrastructure.

Most people in Kashmir take the claim with a pinch of salt, in the backdrop of the campaign where the agitators knocked on the doors of the high and the mighty in the country to press for its closure.

Leader of the Opposition in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Sunil Sharma of the BJP, petitioned health minister J.P. Nadda favouring the institute’s conversion into a gurukul to impart Vedic studies.

The NMC order has some respite for the admitted students who will be accommodated in other government medical colleges across the Union Territory.

The withdrawal has, however, left the door open for reviving the college in future, although Jammu-based National Conference leader Vivek Sharma said the decision would affect the teachers and non-teaching staff, who are mostly Hindus.

The BJP’s chief spokesperson in Jammu and Kashmir, Sunil Sethi, acknowledged that the closure would not benefit anybody but hoped that if the college was revived, the “sentiments of the community” (Hindus) would be respected.

“A temporary solution has been found to the issue because the concerns of the people have been addressed, including the students and their families,” he told The Telegraph. “The university (MVD) should not do anything (in future) that is in conflict with the faith of the community.”

It remains to be seen how the BJP or the Right-wing groups will ensure that the students admitted in the future, in case a fresh permission is issued, are Hindus.

The NMC had previously rejected the institute’s request to place all the seats under an all-India quota on the ground that its seat-sharing policy cannot be altered for a single institution. The existing reservation policy for states allows 85 per cent seats to be set aside for that state/ Union Territory and the remaining 15 per cent for the all-India quota.

The Sangharsh Samiti welcomed the decision and announced that it would call off its “45-day-long successful agitation”.

“But we will continue to keep watch on the activities of the shrine board, which should work only for the welfare of the Hindus,” Samiti convener Col (retd) Sukhvir Singh Mankotia told reporters.

Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Sat Sharma credited Mata Vaishno Devi for the “success” and said they would not have politicised the issue had it not been a matter of faith.

On Monday, Omar had asked Muslim parents not to admit their wards to the medical college because of the prevailing environment of fear. “We don’t need this college. It’s not worth being a medical college. Shut down this college and we will make arrangements for ythe education for these students in other colleges,” he had said.