India’s neighbouring country is China. But since the 1962 Indo-China war, there has been tension between these two countries. Just a while ago, there was a situation of tension between the soldiers of both the countries regarding the border. But do you know that despite this tension, China is a fan of an Indian doctor, yes, the people of China still consider Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis like God and respect him. Today we will tell you when and how Doctor Dwarkanath, a native of India, saved the lives of Chinese soldiers.
Second World War
Let us tell you that the war between China and Japan started in the year 1937, about a year before the Second World War. When Japan attacked China, at that time China had sought help from all the countries of the world including America, Britain. At that time the Chinese general had also written a letter to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. However, at that time India itself was not independent. But despite this, he started discussing with many people about sending a team of doctors to China on humanitarian grounds.
All the senior leaders of Congress at that time accepted the words of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and people were appealed to send a team of Indian doctors. Congress had issued this public appeal and said that those who want to be a part of this team of doctors can submit their names to the Congress party.
Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis
Born in a middle-class family on 10 October 1910 in Solapur, Maharashtra, Dwarkanath Kotnis had completed his medical studies. After this, he was preparing for post graduation that same year. But his wish was always to travel the world and serve the people. When he came to know about the appeal of Congress, he immediately decided to go to China. In the year 1938, Congress formed a team of five doctors for this and sent them to China. At that time, Congress had raised a donation of Rs 22000 to send these doctors to China and sent them to China with medical supplies. Let us tell you that at that time it was the first Indian team to reach from any Asian country to help China.
Saved the lives of thousands of Chinese soldiers
After reaching China, the team of all Indian doctors including Dr. Kotnis was treating Chinese soldiers in different provinces of China for the next three and a half years. During this time, Dr. Kotnis had put all his strength for the lives of Chinese soldiers. It is said that in the year 1940, he operated continuously for about 72 hours. According to some media reports, Dr. Kotnis alone saved the lives of more than 800 Chinese soldiers by treating them.
During his stay in China, Dr. Kotnis fell in love with a Chinese nurse. Whose name was Qinglan. Both of them got married in December 1941 and had a son. Dr. Kotnis became so popular in China that he was given a new name there. Kotnis’s family members say that despite living there, he used to write letters to his family members in India regularly. Media reports show that Dr. Kotnis was so engrossed in his work in China that he was not aware of the time. He used to work for 18-20 hours a day. After some time, his health became very weak, due to which Dr. Kotnis died in December 1942 at the age of just 32. According to the information, Dr. Kotnis’s wife also used to come to India and last came to India in the year 2006 with Hu Jintao.
Xi Jinping also impressed
Even today, people of China respect Dr. Kotnis a lot. Not only this, many medical colleges, museums and schools in China are named after him. His statues are installed at many places in China. According to information, when Xi Jinping visited India in 2014, he also met Dr. Kotnis’s sister in Delhi and greeted her with a bow.
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