The Indian Medical Association initiated an online petition on February 18 to mobilise support against the Centre's order to train post-graduate practitioners in specified streams of ayurveda for general surgical procedures.

The association has set a target of 2,500 signatures for the petition after which it will be presented to the Prime Minister, whom the IMA has appealed to intervene in the matter. "Mixopathy is an unscientific, illogical & most unsafe for people of the country. The healthcare of India will get retrograde push because of mixopathy. It is absurd & impractical to mix different systems of healthcare which have extremely different principles.Mixopathy will create mediocre surgeons in the country which is at the cost of healthcare risk of the common man," the petition states.

"Mixopathy is end of ayurveda, an ancient Indian healthcare system. Ayurveda needs positive push & scope for its own development. Mixing of it with modern medicine will suppress this Indian system of medicine," it said. "Why people in the country undergo surgery from untrained, inexperienced & unqualified surgeons? Quality, Safety, Ethicality & Professionalism are being dumped by Mixopathy. Hon. Prime Minister should immediately intervene & stop this blot on healthcare of India called Mixopathy," the IMA appealed.

Earlier this week, the apex association of private practitioners of modern medicine in the country had announced the petition to protest against the Centre's order. The IMA members had started a pan-India relay hunger strike from February 1 which concluded on Sunday. "It was our first step towards the 'Save Healthcare India Movement' which was initiated this month. We are going to intensify it further with a next stage of non-cooperation," IMA President Dr J.A. Jayalal said.

While intensifying their protest further with the petition movement, the IMA had also asked its members who are surgeons and anesthesiologists not to cooperate in training the AYUSH doctors for the surgeries. The whole exercise by the IMA is to push for immediate withdrawal of the Centre's order which the association claims is impractical, unscientific and promotes "mixopathy" of different streams of medicine.

Last year, the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) amended Indian Medicine Central Council (Post Graduate Ayurveda Education) Regulations, 2016, and allowed PG students of ayurveda to perform a variety of general surgery including orthopaedic, ophthalmology, ENT and dental through notifying an amendment in a gazette notification issued in November.

The latest amendment allows PG ayurveda students to receive formal training for such procedures. The training modules for surgical procedures will be added to the curriculum of ayurvedic studies. This move has drawn a lot of criticism from the doctors of modern medicine which also result in a series of protests the country witnessed last December, called by the IMA.