Guwahati: Dr Kamakhya Prasad Chakravarty, the Assam doctor whose courageous role in evacuating wounded Indian soldiers following the 1962 India-China War came to be widely recognised decades later, passed away on Tuesday.
His family announced that his cremation will take place on Wednesday, July 8, at 12 noon at the Lodhi Road Cremation Ground in Pragati Vihar, New Delhi.
As the Sub-divisional Medical and Health Officer in Tezpur during the 1962 war, Dr Chakravarty volunteered with the Red Cross after the ceasefire. In December 1962, he travelled through the war-ravaged Bomdila-Dirang sector with two other doctors to receive wounded Indian prisoners of war from Chinese authorities and escort them back to India.
Recalling the mission in an interview six decades later, Dr Chakravarty spoke of driving past destroyed military vehicles and the bodies of Indian soldiers that still lay scattered across the mountains weeks after the fighting had ended. He also recounted bringing nearly 460 wounded Indian soldiers safely to Tezpur for medical treatment, making his account one of the most important firsthand civilian testimonies of the aftermath of the 1962 war.
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His memories offered a rare and deeply human perspective on one of the most difficult chapters in the history of India’s eastern Himalayas, preserving stories of sacrifice, resilience and compassion that might otherwise have been lost.
Dr Chakravarty is survived by his family. He is mourned not only as a dedicated physician but also as a custodian of an extraordinary chapter in the history of the 1962 war.
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