Dwarakanath Dwarkanath Kotnis was born to a middle-class Marathi Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmin family in Solapur, Maharashtra, he had two brothers and five sisters.
16 Facts About Dwarkanath Kotnis
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Dwarkanath Kotnis studied medicine at the Grant Medical College of the University of Bombay.
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Dwarkanath Kotnis, born in a middle class Maharashtrian family from Sholapur on 10 October 1910, had then graduated from the Seth G S Medical College, Bombay and was preparing for post-graduation.
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Dwarkanath Kotnis asked permission of his family to volunteer for service abroad.
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In 1939, Dr Dwarkanath Kotnis joined the Eighth Route Army at the Jin-Cha-Ji border near the Wutai Mountain Area, after his efforts all across the northern China region.
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In one long-drawn out battle against Japanese troops in 1940, Dr Dwarkanath Kotnis performed operations for up to 72 hours, without getting any sleep.
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Dwarkanath Kotnis treated more than 800 wounded soldiers during the battle.
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Dwarkanath Kotnis was eventually appointed as the Director of the Dr Bethune International Peace Hospital named after the famous Canadian surgeon Norman Bethune.
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In 1940, Dr Dwarkanath Kotnis met Guo Qinglan, a nurse at the Bethune Hospital.
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Dr Dwarkanath Kotnis was buried in the Heroes Courtyard in Nanquan Village.
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Dwarkanath Kotnis is among the "foreign friends of China" that Xi Jinping cites in his foreign policy discourses in an effort to recognize the contributions of other countries to China's national liberation.
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In November 1941, about a year before his death, Dwarkanath Kotnis married Guo Qinglan, a nurse at the Bethune International Peace Hospital.
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Dwarkanath Kotnis died on 28 June 2012 at the age of 96 in Dalian, in Northeastern China.
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Dwarkanath Kotnis's relatives were visited in Mumbai by:.
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Dwarkanath Kotnis is commemorated together with Dr Bethune, and Scottish missionary and athlete, Eric Liddell in the Martyrs' Memorial Park in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, China.
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The entire south side of the memorial is dedicated to Dr Dwarkanath Kotnis, where there is a great statue in his honour.