The red flag which symbolizes the victory of the Chinese revolution is dyed also with the blood of this great Indian doctor. -Jiang Yizhen
Dwarakanath Shantaram Kotnis was an Indian-born doctor, best known for his heroic contributions as part of the Indian medical mission to China in 1938. Coming from a middle-class family in British-occupied India, Kotnis witnessed the horrors of imperialism from an early age and chose to become a doctor to serve his nation. In 1938, with the beginning of the Japanese fascist invasion of China, which sparked the ‘Aid China’ movement in India, a medical mission was organized. Dr. Kotnis, an ardent nationalist, volunteered to serve the cause of another oppressed nation.
In August 1938, Dr. Kotnis left for China as one of the five members of the medical mission. During his journey, he read Edgar Snow’s book ‘Red star over China’ which deepened his admiration for the Chinese Communist Party and its revolutionaries. Once in China, he traveled across the war-torn regions, gaining profound experiences in every city. In Changsha and Chunyen, he witnessed mangled bodies across the streets. In Chungking, he saw the horrifying sight of a mother crushed to death while still breastfeeding her infant. In Canton, he met Madame Sun Yat-Sen and experienced firsthand the patriotic zeal of the Chinese people. In Hankow, he encountered the Communist forces for
the first time and met Chou En-Lai.
Finally, he reached Yenan, a city built
into caves and filled with revolutionaries.
There, he observed socialist cooperative industries and farms, and eventually met comrade Mao Tse-Tung, for whom he developed deep admiration. These experiences likely inspired him to join the Chinese Communist Party.
Kotnis was deeply influenced by the words of Canadian doctor Norman Bethune: “Doctors must not wait for the wounded to come; they should go to the wounded.” He always worked on the front lines, walking several hundred miles on foot, sleep-deprived and often without food, performing nerve-racking operations in damp caves and trenches. During his Laishui campaign, he treated 800 patients and performed 585 operations in just 13 days. Due to this immense workload, he suffered an epileptic attack and passed away in December 1942. When Mao heard the news, he was grief-stricken and said, “We will never forget Dr. Kotnis’ internationalist spirit.” In honor of his contributions, the people of China gave him the name ‘Chungo Haiza’ (Son of China).
In today’s era, marked by imperialist-backed genocides in Gaza and Sudan, we should uphold the internationalist spirit of Dr. Dwarakanath Kotnis.
