Dwarkanath Kotnis
| Dwarkanath Kotnis | |
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A statue of Dwarkanath Kotnis in Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China.
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| Born | 10 October 1910 Solapur, Maharashtra, India |
| Died | 9 December 1942 (aged 32) China |
| Alma mater | University of Bombay |
| Occupation | physician |
| Spouse(s) | Guo Qinglan |
| Children | Yinhua (1942–1967) |
| Parent(s) | Shantaram Kotnis |
Dwarkanath Shantaram Kotnisa (Marathi: द्वारकानाथ शांताराम कोटणीस; 10 October 1910 in India – 9 December 1942 in China), also known by his Chinese name Ke Dihua (Chinese: 柯棣华; pinyin: Kē Dìhuá), was one of the five Indian physicians dispatched to China to provide medical assistance during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1938. Known for his dedication and perseverance, he has been regarded as an example for Sino-Indian friendship and collaboration.
Along with the Canadian Dr. Norman Bethune, he continues to be revered by the Chinese people. In April 2005, both their graves were covered completely in flowers donated by the Chinese people during the Qingming Festival, a day used by the Chinese to commemorate their ancestors.
Dwarkanath Kotnis was born to a middle class (Goud Saraswat Brahmin) Marathi family in Solapur, Maharashtra, he had two brothers and five sisters. He studied medicine at the Seth G.S. Medical College of the University of Bombay.
In 1938, after the Japanese invasion of China, the communist General Zhu De requested Jawaharlal Nehru to send some physicians to China. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, the President of the Indian National Congress, made an appeal to the people through a press statement on 30 June 1938. He arranged to send a team of volunteer doctors and an ambulance by collecting a fund of Rs 22,000 on the All-Indian China Day and China Fund days on 7–9 July. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose also wrote an article in Modern Review on Japan's role in the Far East and denounced the assault on China. The key aspect of this mission was that it was a helping hand from a nation itself struggling for freedom, to another nation also struggling for its freedom. The mission was reinforced with Nehru's visit to China in 1939.
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