New Delhi, Oct 22: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday recalled the humanitarian legacy of Maharaja Jam Saheb of Nawanagar, who sheltered Polish children displaced during World War II, saying the friendship between India and Poland was rooted in a shared heritage of humanity and compassion.
In his media statement following talks with his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk at the Hyderabad House here, Modi said people of Poland remember Jam Saheb with great respect, and he is known there as the ‘Good Maharaja’.
The story of Maharaja Jam Saheb of Nawanagar, Sir Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja, who had sheltered Polish children after being displaced by the tragedy of World War II, forms one of the significant facets of the cultural ties between the two countries.
He is known in Poland as the “Good Maharaja”, and a square in Warsaw bears the name Good Maharaja Square.
Besides the royal family of Nawanagar, in present-day Jamnagar in Gujarat, the erstwhile royal family of Kolhapur in present-day Maharashtra also provided shelter to Polish women and children displaced by the war.
Modi, in his remarks made in the presence of Tusk, said, “The friendship between India and Poland is based not merely on diplomatic relations, but on a shared heritage of humanity and compassion”.
During the Second World War, the royal families of Jamnagar and Kolhapur had provided shelter in India to thousands of Polish children and families, he said.
“Even today, the people of Poland remember Jam Sahib with great respect as ‘Dobry Maharaja’ — the ‘Good Maharaja’,” Modi said.
The prime minister also recalled Poland’s assistance in facilitating the safe return of Indian students from conflict-hit Ukraine in 2022, saying, “Poland further upheld this same spirit of humanity”.
Modi said he was pleased that, through the Jamsaheb Memorial Youth Exchange Programme, young people from Poland were visiting India, “carrying our historic friendship forward to a new generation”.
The programme was announced by Modi during his State visit to Poland in August 2024 and forms part of the Five-Year Action Plan (2024–2028) for the India-Poland Strategic Partnership.
It envisages an annual exchange of Polish youth to India, providing participants with opportunities to explore the country’s history, culture, institutions and contemporary development.
Modi said the world today is passing through a “period of uncertainty and change”. Even in such times, both India and Poland are emerging as significant hubs for growth, technology, and innovation, he said.
Tusk, in his remarks in Polish, said Modi mentioned something that is still “very vivid in our memories, yes, the Good Maharaja”.
“He remained in our hearts, in our memories, in the national memory, not only as a symbol, because it is not about symbols only. We are talking about a very practical assistance that required a lot of devotion,” he said.
Polish envoy Piotr Antoni Switalski, during an interactive session at an event held in Delhi, had said that the “Good Maharaja” is a “very emotional factor which makes for India a special place in our hearts, the hearts of Poles”.
Switalski had also spoken about a museum coming up in Kolhapur to mark the benevolent act of the royal family.
Between 1942 and 1948, around 5,000 Polish refugees found shelter in Valivade, near Kolhapur, after being displaced by the tragedy of World War II.
The settlement grew into a vibrant ‘Little Poland’, complete with schools, a church, and community life, offering hope and dignity to families far from their homeland, the Polish embassy had said in a social media post in June.
In 2019, a memorial pillar was unveiled, and the foundation for a museum was laid to preserve the memory of the Polish refugees who lived in Valivade.
The museum is now nearing completion and ready to serve as a place where members of the Polish diaspora can reconnect with their family histories and the remarkable legacy of India’s humanitarian spirit, it said. (PTI)
