Under the Surgeon's Knife THE current debate in Maharashtra on the mass hysterectomies conducted by state institutions on young mentally retarded women under its care touches upon a complex web of interlinked issues which impact on value systems in a milieu undergoing rapid change. At one level there is the question of whether the state can assume the right to take decisions on behalf of its wards. A second concern is the irresponsibility of the state in not ensuring the quality of comprehensive care which would have significantly influenced the context in which such a decision would have to be made. A third and colluding issue is the increasingly ominous role that the medical profession is playing in determining solutions to social problems on the periphery of medicine. And influencing the course of events are the decadent patriarchal values which are being sought to be re-asserted in newer forms.