I agree with the concerns raised by the authors of this letter.

Surgery requires anaesthesia which the Ayurvedic pharmacopeia does not possess. This being the case, one fails to understand the logic behind promoting ‘Ayurvedic surgeries’ by importing anaesthesia and antibiotics from the modern pharmacopeia.

Ayurveda is appropriate to use as a system of primary care. Instead of training ayurveda doctors to operate in specialty areas like surgery, the focus should be upon equipping them to function as full-fledged primary care doctors. This would require approaching and reforming ayurveda scientifically while also complementing it with modern medical knowledge especially in the management of primary care emergencies. Overlooking these priority reforms and intruding into a space where modern medicine is clearly superior is ill-advised and can achieve nothing wholesome.

• Affiliation: Ayurveda Physician and Homi Bhabha Fellow, IISc Bengaluru
• Country: India