University students from India and China participated in an online event organized by a Chinese association with close ties to the government to mark the anniversary of the birth of Dwarkanath Kotnis, an Indian physician who died in China during the Sino-Japanese War in 1942.
In 1938, a medical team of five doctors consisting of M Atal, M. Cholkar, Kotnis, BK Basu, and D. Mukerji arrived in China as part of the Indian medical mission team during the war with Japan to assist Chinese soldiers. Among the five, all except Kotnis returned to India.
Organized by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), Saturday’s event saw the release of short documentaries on Kotnis to mark his 110th birthday and a discussion on the legacy of the Indian doctor.
It took place in the context of the current border tension between India and China in eastern Ladakh, which has sunk bilateral ties to their worst levels.
Speaking on the occasion, CPAFFC President Lin Songtian, who until March was China’s ambassador to South Africa, said that there have been temporary difficulties in Sino-Indian relations recently, but young students from the two countries did not stop making documentaries because of this. .
Instead, they incorporated their deep hope for peace and friendship between China and India in short video works, using their own way of commemorating Kotnis, he added.
Students and professors from two Indian universities, Doon University and Gujarat Central University, as well as several Chinese universities, including Peking University, which co-hosted the event, Beijing University of Foreign Studies and the University of Beijing, participated in the event. Communication from China.
A high-ranking diplomat from the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, Ma Jia, participated.
The CPAFFC describes itself as a “national people’s organization committed to people-to-people diplomacy of the People’s Republic of China … In launching its activities, it has the support of the government and the assistance of all sectors of society “.
A separate webinar was held in Mumbai on Friday, where Chinese Consul General Tang Guocai spoke about the Indian doctor’s impact on ties.
Speaking at the webinar hosted by the Dr. Kotnis Memorial Committee, Tang recalled the contribution of Dr. Kotnis that exemplifies the tradition of friendship between India and China.
“The culture and tradition of India and China have several points in common, just as Dr. Kotnis is seen as an Indian in China and as Chinese in India,” Tang said, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
He also called on China and India to join forces in vaccine research and manufacturing, as well as in the field of public health, for the benefit of their people and the world at large.
In August, official Chinese media had announced that a bronze statue of Kotnis erected outside a medical school bearing his name in Shijiazhuang, north China’s capital of Hebei province, would be unveiled later this year. .
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