Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c14.s4.t39: Dr Dwarkanath Shantaram Kotnis
Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c14.s4.t39
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Dr Dwarkanath Shantaram Kotnis
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Dr Dwarkanath Shantaram Kotnis was born on October 10, 1910, in Sholapur, a small town in the Bombay Presidency. Kotnis grew up in Sholapur; after schooling in Northcote High School. He completed his training in Medicine with an MBBS degree from the Grant Medical College in 1936. After Japan's invasion of China in 1937, the anti-Japanese war began in China. During this time, on the request of the Chinese Commander-in Chief of the Eighth Route Army-Zhu De, the Indian National Congress adopted a resolution to immediately send a medical team to China to help the Chinese people in need. Though Kotnis earnestly desired to be a part of the medical team to China and submitted his application, he did not have much chance of getting selected as he had very less experience as a medical surgeon. He was highly inspired by the life of the Belgian medical missionary-Father Damien who had sacrificed his life caring and looking after lepers in Molokai island, Hawaii. But he did not loose hope, and with the intervention of Dr Jivraj Mehta, Chairman of the China-Aid Committee in
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*Dr Dwarkanath Shantaram Kotnis*
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Bombay (Mumbai), his application got accepted. Kotnis was selected as one of the five doctors to be sent to China along with Dr Madan Mohanlal Atal from Allahabad, Dr M. Ramchandra Cholkar from Nagpur, and Dr Deben Mukherji and Dr Bejoy Kumar Basu from Calcutta (Kolkata).
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On September 1, 1938, the mission set forth for China. On his journey to China in the steamer Rajputana, Kotnis met a few fellow passengers who were also very enthusiastic about their mission. Two of the fellow passengers were Chinese, an economist named Ji Chaoding and a young engineering student named Wang. Kotnis made friends with them and
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*Norman Bethune cum Indian medical team Memorial, located in Shijiazhuang, Hebei North China Military Martyrs Cemetery*
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while sailing to China, he spent his days learning the Chinese language from them. He also compiled a handbook of vocabulary in three languages-Hindi, English and Chinese for their reference while in China. All these earned him the nickname of "scholar" while on-board.
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After the mission arrived in Guangzhou on September 17, 1938, they first went to Changsha, then to Wuhan, then to Chongqing and finally to Yan'an. In the meanwhile, Kotnis received the news of his father's death. He was devastated with the news but he decided to stay back and not leave the mission half way. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, Dr Cholkar, Dr Mukherji and later Dr Atal had to be sent back to India. After they left, Dr Kotnis and Dr Basu stayed with the Eighth Route Army; they moved to southeast of Shanxi province and then to southern Hebei. Later when Dr Basu was sent to Yan'an and Dr Kotnis was the only one to be left back in the border area.
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The area was then known as the Shanxi-Chahaer-Hebei Base Area. It lay just behind the enemy lines and was in the process of being liberated from the Japanese by the Chinese people, the guerilla forces and the Eighth Route Army under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. Here, Kotnis was appointed as the president of the Bethune International Peace Hospital and the principal of the Bethune Medical School. But the hospital had no permanent building and shifted from place to place depending on the situation of the war. Kotnis cured several Chinese soldiers wounded in the war. Other than treating the Chinese soldiers, he also made a significant contribution on medical technology. He improved the surgical appliances and their usage. He also educated people on the principles of traditional medicine and trained them on the use local herbs. This was a significant contribution to the medical science in China at that point of time as medical equipments there were grossly inadequate and medical science under-developed.
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Kotnis worked extremely hard every day to cure maximum people and save them from the agony of pain and distress. He worked 18-20 hours a day, and also helped the hospital with the administrative works and was in charge of the surgery wards of the hospital as well. On a daily basis, he performed the task of check-up, an average of two surgeries and also trained the students in medical science. In the entire year, he had performed over 450 operations including 45 amputations, 20 hernias, 35 lumbar vertebra operations, etc.
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Since Kotnis was teaching at the Bethune Medical School, mastering of the Chinese language became extremely important for him to deliver lectures to the medical science students. Kotnis worked rigorously
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Dwarkanath statue, located in Shijiazhuang, Hebei North China Military Martyrs Cemetery
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with utmost efforts to master the Chinese language in entirety. After six months of Chinese language training, he acquired a fairly good command of the language. He was able to give lectures in Chinese and also make simple conversations without any difficulty. Kotnis also compiled his own books titled - ‘General Introduction to Surgery’ and ‘Surgery in Detail’ to help the students study medicine.
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By 1941, Kotnis was deeply involved with the Chinese people in their struggle to fight the Japanese. He was determined to stay in China till the end of the anti-Japanese war. By that time he also fell in love with a young Chinese woman, named Guo Qinglan, who was a teacher in nursing. On November 25, 1941, Kotnis married her. After this, he was also referred to as “China’s son-in law”. He was even eager to become a member of the Communist Party of China, but was not sure whether the Party would accept an Indian national as its member. But after thoroughly examining his entire experience and work in China, the Party felt that he met the requirements for a Party member. In July, 1942, Kotnis became a member of the Communist Party of China.
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A son was born to Kotnis on August 23, 1942; named Yin Hua which meant India and China. By that time Kotnis’s health had already deteriorated due to overwork and exhaustion and also because of epilepsy. He passed away on December 9, 1942, in Tangxian County of Hebei Province; his son was just 109 days old then. Kotnis was buried in Tangxian County, China. Later, Kotnis’s tomb was moved from Tangxian County to the Shijiazhuang Martyrs Cemetery of the North China Military Region. Here, he was cremated along with other martyrs who died for the cause of China’s liberation.
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The Communist Party of China spoke highly of Kotnis referring to him as the great son of the Indian people. On December 30, 1942, the people from various walks of life held a memorial ceremony in honour of Kotnis in Yan’an. Mao Zedong himself sent a message eulogising the contribution and sacrifice of Kotnis, which read: “The army has lost a helping hand, the nation has lost a friend. Let us always bear in mind his internationalist spirit.” Zhu De also attended the memorial ceremony where he delivered a memorial speech and read the funeral oration. He also published an article entitled - ‘In memory of Dr Kotnis’.
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In India, the All-India Dr Kotnis Memorial Committee was established in Bombay. Dr Bejoy Kumar Basu served as the President of the Committee. In China, Dr Kotnis was referred to as the “Second Bethune” after the Canadian doctor, Dr Norman Bethune, who also served in China caring for the poor and the sick. Dr Kotnis was conferred the title of “Black Mother” by the
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Some comments written by Mao Zedong on Dr Kotnis
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local Chinese people. It was a symbolic expression that describes his affectionate, tender and selfless qualities like mother and black depicting his dark skin colour. In China, Kotnis stands as a symbol of India-China friendship. There are several statues built in his honour, the most prominent one being in Shijiazhuang in Hebei province. There are hospitals in his name and stamps have been issued in his honour. Since 1950, Chinese leaders have followed a tradition of paying a visit to Kotnis’s family in Bombay whenever they visit India. Recently, in 2009, in an internet poll organised by the China Radio International, Kotnis was voted as one of the “Top Ten Foreigners” in China. (*Sabaree Mitra*)
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*Tomb of Dr Kotnis, located in Shijiazhuang, Hebei North China Military Martyrs Cemetery*