India was still under the British rule at the time of WW-II when thousands of Polish refugees and war orphans, caught between Nazi Germany and Communist Russia, found shelter in India.
Around 1000 children were among nearly 5,000 Polish who took asylum in Kolhapur in Western India after they were evacuated from Soviet captivity in Siberia and lived in India from 1942 to 1948, were remembered on Saturday.
A group of Poles who lived in India at the time made a journey back when Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Marcin Przydacz inaugurated a commemorative pillar on Saturday, remembering the refugees in Valivade village in Kolhapur district of Maharashtra.
The memorial is being built right where the refugee barracks are located and then, according to the Indian government officials, it would be converted into a permanent museum with photographs, paintings, and other exhibits from the time.
The group reminisced their journey to India from the Soviet gulags. They were first housed in camps in Jamnagar in Gujarat where the ruler Jam Saheb Digvijayasinhji Jadeja had allocated two sites, one in Balachadi where 1000 Polish orphans were housed. from there, some of the migrants proceeded to Kolhapur.
Several international publications called the ruler of Jamnagar 'the Oskar Schindler of India' for stepping up to help the refugees, including children aged 2-17, facing a dire situation as they were first denied entry at the Bombay port by the British authorities. Poland has acknowledged and thanked the maharaja in many forms, including by unveiling the 'Good Maharaja Square' in Warsaw in 2017.
In May 2016, representatives of Post-WWII Polish refugees met and thanked the Indian community in the Victorian Parliament, acknowledging and remembering the support they received.
Maharaja Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja of Nawanagar set up a home away from home for Polish refugees and orphans. Source: A Little Poland in India
The Square of Good Maharaja in Warsaw. Source: Twitter
