A bronze statue of Indian doctor Dwarkanath Kotnis, who is revered in China for his contributions, would be unveiled outside a medical school in North China next month, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday. During the Chinese revolution headed by its founder Mao Zedong and World War II, Kotnis saved hundreds of lives of Chinese soldiers.
From the 1930s to the 1940s, when India was struggling for Independence, China was facing invasion from the Japanese.Around this time, General Zhu De wrote to Jawaharlal Nehru, requesting physicians to save the lives of Chinese soldiers.
After an appeal was made in the press by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, who was the president of the Indian National Congress, Dr.Kotnis sought permission from his family to volunteer.In September 1938, the Indian Medical Mission Team, including Dr.M Atal from Allahabad, Dr.M Cholkar from Nagpur, Dr.BK Basu, and Dr.Debesh Mukherjee from Calcutta, and Dr.Kotnis, was dispatched to China.His decision to brave the war-torn country proved to be a life-changing one.
