An Indian surgeon claims that plastic surgery began in his country 2,600 years ago

Senegal says the world's first plastic surgery was performed in Varanasi.

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A top Indian surgeon says plastic surgery, often considered an image-obsessed invention of the 20th century, was first practiced in a city by the Ganges 2,600 years ago.

Dr. Manish Singhal cited historical records, confirming at a conference held in Delhi, recently, that the first plastic surgery in the world was performed in Varanasi, by Sushruta, an Indian sage who lived in the sixth century BC, on a man whose nose was cut off.

“Sushruta made him drink to avoid the pain,” says Singhal, who heads the department of plastic, reconstructive and burn surgery at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi. Then attach it to the body.

While Senegal's claim, published by The Tribune, may be true, it is just one of many claims made by the increasingly entrenched ultra-nationalist Hindus who promote the idea of ​​the supremacy of ancient Indian civilization.

Critics say these claims are intended to create a sense of pride and cultural superiority for the country's Hindu population, by linking modern inventions to the work of ancient Indians.

Myths, religious rituals, and quotes from ancient texts have been cited as evidence of these achievements.

At a scientific conference, in 2015, speakers said that the Indians invented aircraft 7,000 years ago.

Others said ancient India invented cars and researched stem cells.

Senegal has started a project documenting Sushruta's achievements, known as the "Father of Plastic Surgery".

"Since 600 BC, Hippocrates (a Greek physician) and other doctors studied Indian sciences and knowledge," Singhal added. "From India, the science of surgery has spread throughout the world."

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