India and China will commemorate in 2008 the 70th anniversary of the arrival of revered Indian doctor Dwarkanath Kotnis in China in an effort to inspire future generations of the two countries to work for the needy.
Manorama Kotnis, the 94-year-old sister of Dr Dwarkanath Kotnis who is considered the symbol of Indo-Chinese friendship, has passed away after a brief illness.
"Indian people have forgotten Kotnis. For years, nobody visited us out of respect for him. The people who did come are Chinese," Manaroma, another sister of Kotnis said.
'The Indian medical mission travelled thousands of miles to assist us and fought shoulder to shoulder with people of my father's generation against Japanese fascists. The fine representative, young Dr Kotnis gave his precious life in China,' Xi noted.
Rekindling the spirit of Indian doctor Dwarkanath Kotnis, held in high esteem in China for his services to the country, a joint Medical Mission from India and China will offer free consultations to several poor areas in the two nations under an MoU signed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit.
Dr. Kotnis, who hailed from Solapur in Maharashtra, came to China in 1938 as part of a five-member team of doctors sent by the Indian National Congress to help the Chinese during the World War II.
Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday paid tributes to the memory of a young Indian doctor who treated wounded and plague-stricken Chinese soldiers on battlefront during the Sino-Japanese war of the 1930s, becoming one of the most revered and enduring links between the two countries.
Guo Qinglan the 91-year-old widow of revered Indian doctor Dwarkanath Kotnis, who saved hundreds of lives of Chinese soldiers during World War II, may be the oldest member of Chinese President Hu Jinato's entourage to India.
The talks took place in a beach resort in Benaulim on the sidelines of a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
'My father's life sends a message that there are positive things happening between India and China, no matter what happens at the border.'
In the past year, Beijing has hosted at least 70 delegations from India as part of its outreach to the Indian business community, youth leaders and Sangh Parivar affiliates
Sino-India ties have been taken on an upward trajectory by the recent visits of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, top Chinese leader Zhang Dejiang said on Sunday.
India-China relations have always attracted Parliament's attention and there have always been useful and productive and constructive discussions how to engage with China, notes Rup Narayan Das.
India's commitment to an open and plural security architecture attests to the fact that Asia's transition is a dynamic of both power & identity, says Zorawar Daulet Singh
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