Why is Allowing Ayurveda Doctors Surgery a Contentious Move?

Why is the IMA calling this decision a “retrograde step”?

The government has issued a notification that allows Ayurvedic doctors to be trained and legally authorised to perform 58 surgeries.

(Photo: The Quint)

In what is being seen as a contentious move by some members of the medical fraternity, the government has issued a notification that allows Ayurvedic doctors to be trained and legally authorised to perform 58 surgeries — this includes 39 general surgical procedures and 19 procedures involving the eye, ear, nose and throat.

This came as the Central Council of Indian Medicine which is a statutory body that comes under the AYUSH Ministry amended the Indian Medicine Central Council (Post Graduate Ayurveda Education) Regulations, 2016, to include the regulation to allow PG students of Ayurveda to practice general surgery.

Although the AYUSH ministry has denied allegations of any policy shift, many are looking at this move by the Centre as a sign of an impending paradigm shift in healthcare from modern medicine to the traditional form, or an attempt to mix both strains of medicines.

The Indian Medical Association or the IMA was one of the first to come down heavily against this decision saying that this "retrograde step" of mixing modern medicine with traditional systems will be resisted at all costs.

Why is the move garnering controversy? What are the concerns with this move? Tune in to The Big Story!