How India Became Distant Stepmother To Poland? (Image: Twitter/Marina Amaral)
“India, she the grim stepmother of our kind”: Rudyard Kipling.
The story of an Indian Maharaja, who provided 1,000 orphaned Polish children refuge amid the World War II… The story of Jam Saheb of Nawanagar, who prevented a band of innocent Polish civilians from the undulating torments of power battles…
Time of war always marks mammoth refugee crisis. As Israel-Palestine tensions are rioting up to the level of an unacceptable humanitarian crisis, the refugee concerns are also an important matter of talk around the globe. The plight of homeless and those who were uprooted from homeland were utmost catastrophic during the time of World War’s and the world in surprise witnessed a crucial aid from India, even before the nation secured Independence from the British dominance.
“India, she the grim stepmother of our kind”, wrote the English novelist and poet Joseph Rudyard Kipling once. Corroborating this, India paid homage to a thousand Polish citizens, mostly children, who were evacuated from their mother country due to deadly threats from Nazi-Germany and Soviet Union occupations. An Indian king went out of his way, rejecting and condemning all the oppositions, extended his hands to the displaced and devastated small faces from the European country.
Poland confronted an invasion by the USSR and Nazi Germany during the later period of World War II. The totalitarian dictatorship forced a bunch of Polish people – 1,000 as said to be – to leave the country as the political landscape of the country turned upside down.
As the ship approached, many nations turned their back on them. Even the British Crown governor in Mumbai was on the verge of refusing the helpless and denying entry when the Maharaja Jam Sahib of Nawanagar Sir Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja stepped in. He was frustrated by the lack of empathy and unwillingness shown by others to the Polish refugees. Despite the fact that India itself is suffering hard from intense drought and famine at that time, Maharaja ordered the ship to anchor at the dock of Rozi port. He extended support and ensured the people on board were taken care of.
He also arranged food and stay to the children, many of them orphans, in Balachadi – a village in Gujarat’s Jamnagar, near to his summer palace. The Camp was located 25 km from Jamnagar and incorporated 1,000 orphaned Polish children. And the king further extended aid to pursue them education without leaving their Polish culture and traditions. The children were carefully facilitated and felt at home in a foreign soil. They loved Jam Saheb in return, aptly calling him “Bapu”. In utmost generosity, he joined the children with all their problems and happiness, involved in celebrations, walked the local streets, and engaged with the children constantly.
The Maharaja, in addition to his personal financial aid persuaded the House of Indian Princes to accept voluntary obligation to support 500 Polish children until the end of World War II. A committee for the purpose was also established in Delhi and received voluntary donations from rulers and private individuals. A bank account in support was also opened and a significant sum was collected by the Indian Red Cross. They went back to Poland after many years, once the nation went back to a normal life.
The Warsaw City Council named one of its city park squares in Ochota district after the Maharaja – the “Square of the Good Maharaja”- as a tribute to the king. Warsaw is the capital of Poland. A group called ‘Survivors of Balachadi’ was also formed as an initiative by the Polish World War II survivors who were given shelter at Camp Balachadi, and they revere and remember Jam Saheb. One of the best schools in Warsaw was also named after him as “Jam Saheb Grammar School”. It is actually the first public school complex founded in Poland after the Second World War and set an Indian king as the patron! The school includes numerous pictures of Indian monuments, landscapes, and wall graffiti’s of rangoli and handicrafts. There are also pictures of Indian gods and goddesses adorning the building walls.
City of Warsaw unveils Jam Saheb of Nawanagar memorial in the “Square of Good Maharaja” pic.twitter.com/nqB6O1x4Jy
— India in Poland (@IndiainPoland) October 31, 2014
The Maharaja in 2012 was posthumously awarded with the Poland’s President’s medal – The Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland -the highest honour from the country awarded to persons who have rendered great service to Poland. It is granted to foreigners or Poles resident abroad, and was arranged by the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, lower house of the country’s bicameral parliament, in honour of the 50th anniversary of Maharaja’s death. The parliament unanimously adopted a special resolution honouring Jam Saheb for his aid to the Polish children refugees.
Indian freedom struggle leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru were also known to be vocal supporters to Poland’s struggle and resistance towards the German and USSR invasions. The time marked many Polish citizens given refuge status in India by Indian Maharaja’s. Perhaps remembered of their once refugee status, Poland was one among the countries – along with nations like Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia – who have opened their borders on the time of Russia-Ukraine war, welcoming the standard public and provided them with hope and home.
In 1987, a group of survivors presented a commemorative plaque to Maharaja at the Sainik School in Balachadi. Joint commemorative are also coordinated in collaboration of the Republic of Poland, the Embassy of Poland in New Delhi, Government of Gujarat, Polish Institute in New Delhi, Indo-Polish Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Poland and Sainik School in Balachadi. The Polish government in 2018, celebrating 100 years of their Independence, have arranged a diplomatic function in Balachadi. The event was attended by nearly 40 people from Poland – including survivors, who are at their 90’s, senior ministers and diplomats – along with Gujarat Chief Minister and Jam Shatrushaliyaji, son of late Jam Digvijaysinhji.
Little Poland In India, a documentary, was made in collaboration of both Indian and Polish governments to honour the efforts of Maharaja. An Indo-Polish war epic film was also shot featuring Sanjay Dutt as Maharaja but remains unreleased. The film titled The Good Maharaja was directed by Vikash Verma and produced by G7 Films Poland. The film also cast Dhruv Verma in lead role while placing Deepraj Rana, Gulshan Grover and Sharad Kapoor in supporting roles. It was produced on a budget of Rs 400 crore and was shot in three languages including Hindi, Polish, and English. The principal photography began in 2020 was first interrupted by Covid-19 pandemic and by a case filed by the daughters of Maharaja in concern whether the movie distorted facts and tarnished his public image.
