On December 9, 2024, the Dr. Kotnis Memorial Committee (DKMC) of West Bengal held a commemoration marking the 82th anniversary of the passing of Dr. Kotnis. Chinese Consul General Xu Wei, DKMC Vice President Asim Sarkar, Sombhu Chatterjee, Director of Cheena Bhavana, Viswa Bharati University Avijit Banerjee and others amounting to nearly 100 people attended the event. This year also marks the centenary of Rabindranath Tagore's visit to China, the guests had an in-depth view exchange on the theme of ‘Dr. Kotnis and Tagore's Contribution to China-India Friendship’.
Consul General Xu remarked that Dr. Kotnis was a great internationalist warrior who sacrificed his life for the Chinese People's War Against Japanese Aggression when China faced the most difficult time. Under his influence and inspiration, the DKMC of West Bengal has worked tirelessly to promote China-India friendship and spread acupuncture therapy which has benefited millions of people. Tagore's visit to China a hundred years ago made significant contributions to strengthening people-to-people exchanges between India and China and deepening the friendship between the two peoples. Both Dr. Kotnis and Tagore are eternal friends of Chinese people and the symbols of China-India friendship, shining with the light of humanitarianism and internationalism. We are willing to work with friends from all walks of life in east India to carry forward the spirit of Dr. Kotnis and Tagore, learn from each other, deepen mutual trust, strengthen cooperation, and jointly promote China-India relations to a new level.
The participants discussed the common thoughts of Dr. Kotnis and Tagore on humanitarianism, anti-imperialism and internationalism, highly valued their important contribution to the advancement of India-China friendship, and expressed their commitment to carry on the legacy of Dr. Kotnis and Tagore to strengthen India-China friendly ties. The commemoration brought a successful close with a Chinese song named The East is Red led by a local musician in Chinese and Bengali.