Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c4.s2.142

v1.c4.s2.142

Apart from writing and speaking against the Japanese aggression, Indian leaders also organised various actions to show their sympathy and support for China including the collection of funds and organising “China Days” to popularise the Chinese resistance among the Indian public. Nehru also visited China’s wartime capital Chongqing in 1939. However, the best known instance of cooperation between Indians and Chinese during the War was the despatch of the Indian Medical Mission to China to assist the Chinese war effort. It was formed in August 1938, and included five doctors: M. M. Atal, M. R. Cholkar, D. S. Kotnis, B. K. Basu and D. Mukherjee. Carrying much needed medical equipment, they arrived at Yan’an in February 1939 and worked under very difficult conditions to provide medical care to the resistance fighters and local people. Dr Basu and Dr Kotnis stayed on even when the other members of the mission had to go back. Dr Kotnis was appointed as the Director of the Dr Bethune International Peace Hospital. In China, he met and married a Chinese woman Guo Qinglan. Tragically, he fell ill and died on December 9, 1942 at the age of 32. More than 10,000 people attended his funeral and Mao Zedong paid a moving tribute to Kotnis and his selfless devotion in service of the Chinese people. Even today, Chinese people remember Kotnis and thousands come to visit the memorial built to the memory of Kotnis and the Indian Medical Mission in China. In India, the saga of Dr Kotnis was immortalised in the popular film, *Dr Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani* (1946) which was directed by the noted filmmaker Shantaram and for which the screenplay was written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas.