letters 2 December 2020: Ayurveda surgery; world AIDS day; protest against Down Under coal-mine project at India-Australia match

Sir — The demand of India’s largest body of doctors, the Indian Medical Association, to withdraw the notification allowing ayurveda practitioners to be trained in surgery — 39 general procedures and around 19 procedures involving the eye, ear, nose and throat — is justified (“Fatal mix”, Nov 30). While some forms of surgery have been part of ayurveda treatment for centuries, it does not explain the decision to mix up two very different systems of medical science. Allowing ayurveda practitioners to perform complex surgical procedures of modern medicine, even with some training, is problematic. More importantly, the patients must never be left in the dark about who is treating them — an allopath or an ayurveda practitioner. The patient has the right to choose what system of medicine he wants to be treated under. The IMA has therefore correctly raised questions about post-operative…