MUMBAI: Manorama Kotnis, the sister of Dr Dwarkanath Kotnis who is considered a symbol of India-China friendship, passed away after a brief illness here late on Thursday. She was 94.
Manorama was a professional nutritionist, who had worked with the government.
Her cousin brother Shrikant Kotnis said she died a natural death. “She did not talk much when we met her last night,” he said.
Manorama was only 16 when Dr Kotnis had left India to work in China. Impressed by her brother’s work, she always advocated on maintaining friendship between the two countries.
She was last seen in public two weeks ago, when a senior Chinese leader Zhang Dejiang visited India and paid tributes to Kotnis. She had then reiterated how the people of China loved Kotnis for his service to the humankind.
Keeping alive the traditions of past Chinese leaders, visiting Premier Li Keqiang had called on Manorama here in 2013.
Expressing his “great happiness” at the meeting, Li had enquired after Manorama’s health and said that all Chinese leaders make it a point to the visit the Kotnis family whenever they are in India.
He had informed the family that China still remembers Kotnis and his help to his countrymen during the crises following the Japanese aggression during 1937-45.
Interestingly, 2013 was the platinum jubilee of Kotnis travelling with a medical team to China in September 1938 at the age of 28.
Among other things, China has honoured Kotnis with a Martyr’s Memorial and a 1982 movie. Li had gifted a MP4 player to Manorama.