After the recent move by the Central government of notifying that Ayurveda doctors will now be allowed to perform a variety of general surgeries like ENT, ophthalmology, and dental procedures drew a shocked reaction from the Indian Medical Association (IMA), the AYUSH Ministry on Sunday, 22 November, issued clarifications over the Indian Medicine Central Council (Post Graduate Ayurveda Education) Amendment Regulations 2020. The AYUSH Ministry said that "the notification is specific to 58 specified surgical procedures and doesn't allow Shalya and Shalakya PGs to take up any other surgeries”, reported ANI. Earlier, the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM), which regulates the medical study and practice of Ayurveda, had amended the Indian Medicine Central Council (Post Graduate Ayurveda Education) Regulations, 2016, to allow the PG students of Ayurveda to perform a variety of procedures including general surgery, orthopaedic, ophthalmology, ENT and dental procedures and surgeries.
AYUSH Ministry said that "the notification is specific to 58 specified surgical procedures and doesn't allow Shalya and Shalakya PGs to take up any other surgeries”
The students will be imparted training in 'shalya' (general surgery) and 'shalakya' (diseases of ear, nose, throat, eye, head, teeth) specialisations. Post that, they will be legally eligible to perform procedures such as skin grafting, cataract surgery and root canal treatment. That triggered sharp reactions from practitioners of modern medicine.
However, the AYUSH Ministry said on Sunday, “The notification does not signify any policy shift and is a clarification of relevant provisions in previously existing regulations of 2016. Since the beginning, Shalya and Shalakya are independent Departments in Ayurveda colleges, performing such surgical procedures.” The ministry added that it has not received any statements against the use of modern terminology in the said notification and is hence not aware of any such controversy. No individual or group has a monopoly over these terminologies, reported news agency ANI.
The IMA has also issued a press statement decrying the mixing of systems of medicine stating that “IMA unequivocally condemns uncivil ways of the Central Council of Indian Medicine to arrogate itself to vivisect Modern Medicine and empower its practitioners with undeserving areas of practice. The said council has come out with a gazette notification of a list of surgical procedures which can be performed by its practitioners. IMA has no objections to the list of vernacular terms that they have coined. They have no right to the technical terms, techniques and procedures of modern medicine. IMA draws the Lakshman Rekha that they can cross at their peril. The Council has the dubious reputation of prescribing modern medicine textbooks to its students. IMA exhorts the Council to develop their own surgical disciplines from their own ancient texts and not claim the surgical disciplines of Modern Medicine as its own. Such a deviant practice is unbecoming of a statutory body. IMA will have no objections for the council to develop their own dedicated disciplines without mixing Modern Medicine Surgical Disciplines.”
IMA also added “At the same time, IMA demands that the Government should refrain from posting any modern medicine doctor in the colleges of Indian Medicine. IMA sees this development as a retrograde step of mixing the systems which will be resisted at all costs. All over India students and practitioners of modern medicine have been agitated over this violation of mutual identity and respect. What is the sanctity of NEET if such lateral shortcuts are devised? IMA demands to withdraw the order and first delineate the Indian Medicine disciplines based on original Indian Medicine texts. IMA also creates a firewall for its own members and the fraternity not to teach disciplines of Modern Medicine to the students of other systems. IMA will resist all efforts to mix systems. Let every system grow on its own strength and purity. Surgical disciplines of Modern Medicine have developed over the last half a millennium. Today Modern Medicine is capable of sophisticated surgical procedures and has the wherewithal to train generations of doctors through institutions of excellence and an ever-evolving scientific base."
