A shocking case of religious conversion for medical seats has come to light from Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut. After investigating a complaint, the concerned DMs found out that around 20 MBBS candidates adopted Buddhism just to secure a seat under the minority quota at Meerut’s Subharti University. Additionally, the candidates had submitted certificates claiming that they hail from the Buddhist community, however, the certificates were made in violation of UP’s anti-conversion law. Subsequently, the concerned DMs cancelled their certificates.
As per a Dainik Bhaskar report, counselling for MBBS admission is currently ongoing in UP. Certain institutions come under the category of minority colleges. They are permitted to give admission under the minority quota.
After a Supreme Court ruling, a private university named Subharti University was allowed to have a 50% minority quota. In the current admission cycle, it has 200 MBBS seats, out of which 100 seats are reserved for the minority quota. Needless to say, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Sikhs come under the definition of minority.
In the first round of counselling, 22 seats at Subharti Medical University were to be filled under the minority quota. 20 candidates who took admission under this quota, had submitted certificates of Buddhism.
In the meantime, the Director General of the Medical Education Department, Kinjal Singh received a complaint through WhatsApp. The complaint stated that a major scam was ongoing in the name of minority quota in medical counselling. According to the complaint received on WhatsApp, in Meerut’s Subharti University, general candidates were securing seats under the minority quota by paying Lakhs of rupees in donations besides tuition fees and other charges.
The WhatsApp message said: “A big scam in the name of Minority Status is going on in UP Counselling. Subharati University, Meerut (usually known for its notorious activities) in the name of Buddhist Minority is offering seats to General candidates in lieu of donation amount ranging between 40-50 lakhs besides its tuition fees and other expenditures as sanctioned by UPDGME. Modus operandi is to generate Buddhist Minority certificates for General candidates. Same was visible in round one also. Name of candidates with titles Kaur, Mittal are allotted seats under Buddhist Minority Quota after paying mentioned convenience fees to the college authorities. I hope this shall not go unnoticed.”
As per Dainik Bhaskar’s report, candidates with the surname like Mittal were given admission under the minority quota.
Acting on the complaint, Kinjal Singh ordered an investigation. During the investigation, it was found that only candidates belonging to the Buddhist religion were admitted to Subharti Medical University under the minority quota. Subsequently, their certificates were called for.
The investigation also revealed that all the certificates were issued recently. These certificates were issued from Meerut, Bijnor, Saharanpur, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Prayagraj, Lucknow, Varanasi, Muzaffarpur and Hapur districts.
Kinjal Singh ordered the DMs of these districts to investigate their certificates. A copy of the order was also sent to the Director of the Minority Department.
Following the order, DMs of all districts accepted that the certificates were issued in violation of the rules. Except Varanasi, all DMs have ordered the cancellation of the certificates issued to these candidates. The officer of the Minority Welfare Department of Varanasi is on leave. Therefore, a certificate issued from there has not been cancelled.
How can a person lawfully attain a Certificate of Buddhism –
- Be a Buddhist by birth
- Parents have converted to Buddhism
- Duly following the procedure laid down under the Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act 2021 to convert to Buddhism lawfully, that is certifying that the person is not converting his/her religion under duress or through allurement.
What are the rules under the UP’s anti-conversion law?
The Uttar Pradesh government passed a law in 2021 that prohibits religious conversion through force, coercion, or allurement. The act is called the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act 2021. Sections 8 and 9 of this law clearly state that a person who wants to convert his/her religion must submit a written declaration to the DM/ADM of his/her district. This written declaration has to be submitted at least 60 days in advance. It should be mentioned that the person wants to change his/her religion with his/her free consent and without any force, coercion, or inducement.
Why these admissions under the Minority quota were found to be unlawful and fraudulent?
All the 20 candidates who got admission under the minority quota and had submitted certificates claiming their religion to be Buddhism, hail from the Hindu Dharma. It is said that they made a Buddhism certificate only to seek admission. These certificates were issued by DM, SDM, and Minority Officers in violation of Uttar Pradesh’s anti-conversion law.
During the investigation, it was found that these certificates violated two rules of UP’s anti-conversion law –
Firstly, the declaration of religious conversion was not submitted to the concerned DM 60 days in advance.
Second violation- The certificates were not issued from the candidate’s home district.
Director General of Medical Education, Kinjal Singh said, “The District Magistrates of Meerut, Bijnor, Saharanpur, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Prayagraj, Lucknow, Varanasi, and Hapur were ordered to submit a report on the issuance of Buddhist minority certificates. After this, the district officials started cancelling the certificates of all these people.”
Meanwhile, the Subharti University management is also being accused of giving admission through hefty donations. This allegation is currently under investigation.
