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> There is a similar trend in India with Aryuveda/Unani. It might actually be worse. There's a strong religious/nationalist element to some Ayurvedic promoters

> There is a similar trend in India with Aryuveda/Unani. It might actually be worse. There's a strong religious/nationalist element to some Ayurvedic promoters in India which vociferously rejects any kind of scientific rigor - the attitude amounts to "if Western science says Ayurveda is wrong, Western science must be wrong". TCM doesn't seem to attract the same degree of dogmatism.

alephnerd 1y ago
It isn't all that different. The religious aspect of Aryuveda/Unani isn't that significant (no one is quoting sutras or the Koran in AYUSH "research"), and Aryuveda/Unani programs (BAMS/BUMS) aren't much different from their TCM equivalents in their "research" (they're aping systemic and evidence based methods the same way TCM "researchers" are) as well as curriculum. India's AYUSH Ministry (founded 2014) is itself based on China's NATCM and the formalization of TCM in the 60s-70s. And just like in China, BAMS/BUMS is used as a stopgap MLP in rural and underserved communities the same way TCM is in China. Both are holdovers from the anti-colonial movement of the 50-70s that continue to be cynically used as stopgaps for failures at expanding MLP in both countries, because no real doctor wants to work in a rural primary clinic earning $200-400/mo when they can demand 6-7x that working as a doctor in an urban area with superior amenities. That said, I've started seeing much stronger criticism of AYUSH in India than the equivalent for TCM - AYUSH doctors are increasingly shown as "negative" or "antagonist" characters or quacks in most state subsidized TV shows in India, even in BJP ruled states (eg. Gram Chikitsalay (2025) and BJP ruled Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh; Laakhon Mein Ek (2019) and BJP ruled Maharashtra; Panchayat (2025) and BJP ruled Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh) but recent CDramas like 你好，我的大夫 (2023) and 老中医 (2018) humanize and treat TCM as if it's not a quack field.

alephnerd 1y ago

It isn't all that different. The religious aspect of Aryuveda/Unani isn't that significant (no one is quoting sutras or the Koran in AYUSH "research"), and Aryuveda/Unani programs (BAMS/BUMS) aren't much different from their TCM equivalents in their "research" (they're aping systemic and evidence based methods the same way TCM "researchers" are) as well as curriculum. India's AYUSH Ministry (founded 2014) is itself based on China's NATCM and the formalization of TCM in the 60s-70s. And just like in China, BAMS/BUMS is used as a stopgap MLP in rural and underserved communities the same way TCM is in China. Both are holdovers from the anti-colonial movement of the 50-70s that continue to be cynically used as stopgaps for failures at expanding MLP in both countries, because no real doctor wants to work in a rural primary clinic earning $200-400/mo when they can demand 6-7x that working as a doctor in an urban area with superior amenities. That said, I've started seeing much stronger criticism of AYUSH in India than the equivalent for TCM - AYUSH doctors are increasingly shown as "negative" or "antagonist" characters or quacks in most state subsidized TV shows in India, even in BJP ruled states (eg. Gram Chikitsalay (2025) and BJP ruled Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh; Laakhon Mein Ek (2019) and BJP ruled Maharashtra; Panchayat (2025) and BJP ruled Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh) but recent CDramas like 你好，我的大夫 (2023) and 老中医 (2018) humanize and treat TCM as if it's not a quack field.