if not earlier

https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/scientists-query-pms-ganesh-surgery-link-ancient-medical-pioneer-sushruta-would-have-been-a-better-example-says-researcher/cid/1575618

"One scientist recalled that the late Raj Narain, health minister in the 1977-79 Janata Party government, too had once cited Ganesh’s head as evidence for the world’s first plastic surgery..."

Raj Narain was commemorated with quite a bit of fanfare