On August 30th, Chinese Ambassador to India H.E. Sun Weidong visited Solapur, Maharashtra, paid homage to Dr. Kotnis at Dr. Kotnis Memorial Hall and delivered a speech. Mr. Kong Xianhua, Chinese Consul General to Mumbai, Mr. P. Sivasankar, Municipal Commissioner of Solapur, Mr. Rajendra Jadhav, Chairman of Dr. Kotnis Memorial Committee, and Members of Dr. Kotnis Memorial Committee attended the event. China Media Group(CMG) and local media outlets reported from the scene.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the passing of Dr. Kotnis, a great friend of the Chinese people, and the 10th anniversary of the completion of Dr. Kotnis Memorial Hall in his hometown. The courtyard of the memorial hall is verdant and vibrant with life. Ambassador Sun said that although it was his first visit to Solapur, he felt like reuniting with an old friend. This visit had fulfilled his wish of many years. Ambassador Sun and his wife, Dr. Bao Jiqing, laid wreaths to the statue of Dr. Kotnis and bowed three times. They walked inside the memorial hall with Indian friends and paid tribute to the bust of Dr. Kotnis. They also watched the documentary video, commemorative pictures and relics of Dr. Kotnis meticulously, reviewed his touching deeds of helping China and cherished his great internationalist spirit. Ambassador Sun paid his respects to the original eulogy written by Chairman Mao Zedong for Dr. Kotnis. He also addressed to the local people and media.
Ambassador Sun said, the Chinese nation is a nation that remembers history and cherishes friendship. At a symposium to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, President Xi Jinping said in his important speech that, Canadian doctor Norman Bethune and Indian doctor Kotnis came to China from thousands of miles away to save lives. Their touching stories and noble character will always be remembered in the hearts of the Chinese people!
Ambassador Sun expressed his sincere gratitude to the Solapur Municipal Corporation and Kotnis Memorial Hall for carefully maintaining the collections and Dr. Kotnis’s relics of this memorial hall and providing with this valuable venue to commemorate Dr. Kotnis and carry forward the traditional friendship between China and India. He thanked Mr. Rajendra Jadhav, Chairman of Kotnis Memorial Committee, all the members of Kotnis Memorial Committee, relatives of Dr. Kotnis and friends from Solapur for being committed to promoting people-to-people exchanges between the two countries and making important contributions to the cause of China-India friendship over the years.
Ambassador Sun said that Dr. Kotnis is a great friend of the Chinese people，a great son of the people of India, and a great internationalism warrior. What we can console Dr. Kotnis is that, after his sacrifice, with the dauntless fight of the righteous forces of the world, the world Anti-Fascist War and the Chinese people's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression achieved great victories. With the relentless struggle of the Indian people, India got rid of colonial oppression and achieved national independence. The Chinese Communist Party led the Chinese people to overthrow the oppression of imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism and founded the People’s Republic of China. The Chinese and Indian people have been committed to lasting friendship, and more and more people have joined the cause of developing China-India friendship.
Ambassador Sun stressed, China and India are important neighbors to each other. Both are ancient civilizations, largest developing countries and emerging economies. China and India have a combined population of one third of humanity. We are ready to work with India to enhance political mutual trust, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, properly handle differences, and push China-India relations forward on the right track, so as to benefit our 2.8 billion people and promote world peace, stability and development.
Finally, Ambassador Sun said, although Dr. Kotnis has left us, his deeds will shine in history and will always be cherished and remembered. A person's life is limited, but as long as his spirit is inherited by the people, he will always live in our hearts! We should carry on Dr. Kotnis's legacy and continue to advance the cause of China-India friendship.
The officials of the Solapur Municipal Corporation and members of Dr. Kotnis Memorial Committee warmly welcomed Ambassador Sun and his delegation to visit Dr. Kotnis Memorial Hall. They are touched by the Chinese guests' reverence for Dr. Kotnis, who is the great son of Solapur, and will maintain Dr. Kotnis Memorial Hall well and inherit his great spirit of internationalism. Solapur is willing to enhance cultural and people-to-people exchanges with relevant localities in China, promote practical cooperation and contribute to the friendship between China and India.
The atmosphere at the event was warm and friendly. Many local people attended the event spontaneously. There is a Chinese language classroom in Dr. Kotnis Memorial Hall, which has been dedicated to Chinese language teaching and China-India people-to-people friendship for years. An elderly Chinese man over 90 years, Mr. Huang, who had been teaching Chinese here for years held tight of Ambassador Sun's hand and said emotionally that after decades of absence from home, he finally met his fellows from motherland again. Ambassador Sun expressed his sincere compassion to the elderly and thanked him and the Chinese classroom for their contribution to promote Chinese culture. Ambassador Sun wrote down "Learning Chinese well, you will benefit for the whole life" on the board of the classroom, encouraging local teachers and students to promote Chinese learning and foster people-to-people exchanges between China and India.
In the visitors book of the Memorial Hall, Ambassador Sun wrote down that “May the spirit of Dr. Kotnis live on forever!”, “May the tree of friendship between the peoples of China and India keep evergreen!” in both Chinese and English. The Indian friends took out their treasured albums and photos of China-India friendship, and shared their friendly memories with Ambassador Sun. People participating the event said that China-India relation is of great importance and the traditional friendship between the two peoples is deep and profound. We should carry on Dr. Kotnis's legacy and make our contribution to China-India friendship. In front of the statue of Dr. Kotnis, the Chinese and Indian friends hailed in unison that "Dr. Kotnis Amrit" and "May China-India friendship last forever", jointly making a strong voice for advancing the cause of friendship between the Chinese and Indian people.
