Surgery by Ayurveda practitioners - False pride or Science

India witnessed nationwide protests by MBBS doctors against government allowing surgeries by postgraduate students of Ayurveda. 

The Rigveda is the earliest account of ancient Indian civilization which mentions that Ashwini Kumaras known as Dev Vaidya were the chief surgeons of Vedic periods, who had performed rare legendary surgical operations. There are many Granthas and Samhitas dealing with Ayurveda; among them, Charak Samhita, Sushrutaa Samhita, and Ashtanga Sangraha are the three main pillars of Ayurveda. Charak Samhita and Ashtanga Samhita mainly deal with medicine knowledge while Sushrutaa Samhita deals mainly with surgical knowledge. Sushruta is the father of surgery, his works are compiled as Sushrutaa Samhita. He described 60 types of upakarma for treatment of wounds, 120 surgical instruments and 300 surgical procedures. Sushruta considered surgery the first and foremost branch of medicine and stated that surgery has the superior advantage of producing instantaneous effects by means of surgical instruments and appliances and hence is the highest in value of all the medical tantras.

The Current Debate revolves around allowing postgraduate students in Ayurveda undergoing ‘Shalya’ (general surgery) and ‘Shalakya’ (dealing with eye, ear, nose, throat, head and neck, oro-dentistry) to perform 58 specified surgical procedures. There are two branches of surgery in Ayurveda, Shalya Tantra and Shalakya Tantra. All postgraduate students of Ayurveda have to study these courses, and some go on to specialise in these, and become Ayurveda surgeons. Postgraduate education in Ayurveda is guided by the Indian Medical Central Council (Post Graduate Education) Regulations. The 2016 regulations allow postgraduate students to specialise in Shalya Tantra, Shalakya Tantra, and Prasuti evam Stree Roga (Obstetrics and Gynecology). Students of these three disciplines are granted MS (Master in Surgery in Ayurveda) degrees.

Read :   

Cant S. Medical Pluralism, Mainstream Marginality or Subaltern Therapeutics? Globalisation and the Integration of ‘Asian’ Medicines and Biomedicine in the UK. Society and Culture in South Asia. 2020;6(1):31-51. doi:10.1177/2393861719883064

Exploring pluralism - The many faces of Ayurveda: https://www3.nd.edu/~cnordstr/Academic_Articles_files/Exploring%20Pluralism.pdf