A ceremony in Warsaw has commemorated two Indian maharajas who provided shelter to thousands of Polish refugees during the Second World War.
Officials from both countries, as well as descendants of the two Indian royal families and former child refugees, attended the “Commemoration of the Good Maharajas” event at the Old Orangery in Warsaw’s historic Royal Łazienki Park.
Na zaproszenie Ambasady Indii miałem dziś zaszczyt uczestniczyć w w uroczystości “Upamiętnienie Dobrych Maharadżów” z udziałem potomków rodzin indyjskich, które udzieliły pomocy tysiącom polskich uchodźców z Syberii w czasie II WŚ. 🇵🇱🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/RFbGbTzZ1A
— Marcin Przydacz (@marcin_przydacz) July 5, 2022
In 1942, Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja, the ruler of Nawanagar, established a camp to house over a thousand Polish women and children evacuated from the Soviet Union. Soon after, another facility was established near the city of Kolhapur that housed almost 5,000 Polish refugees.
Some more pics: Ms Malati Kashikar, formerly Ms Wanda Naqwa, a Polish woman who married a Marathi person.Also, Polish girls in Marathi attire
All pics courtesy Sanket Kulkarni, a London based History researcher who has helped @IndiainPoland put up an exhibition
3/3 pic.twitter.com/7Oi0ZbmfxW— Dr. VINAY Sahasrabuddhe (@Vinay1011) July 5, 2022
Among the Indian delegation at this week’s commemoration were Yuvraj Sambhaji Raje Chhatrapati, a great-grandson of the first Maharaja of Kolhapur, and A.S. Sanyogeetaraje Chhatrapati Yuvradhni Saheb of Kolhapur. Former refugees who were housed at both camps also attended the event.
The Maharaja of Kolhapur chose to help the refugees because “the foundation of our empire was to fight against injustice and…protect people”, said Sambhaji Chhatrapati. “The Polish people were our guests, they were our friends, they were our family…And they still are today.”
Remembering the Good Maharajas, in Old Orangery, Royal Lazienki, Warsaw.
India was represented by Yuvraj Sambhaji Chhatrapati Maharaj and A.S. Sanyogeetaraje Chhatrapati Yuvradhni Saheb of Kolhapur;
Dr Vinay Sahasrabuddhe President ICCR; pic.twitter.com/98Pxfxcev2
— Sambhaji Chhatrapati (@YuvrajSambhaji) July 6, 2022
Among the Polish attendees was the deputy governor of Podkarpackie province in southeast Poland, on the border with Ukraine. In a statement, his office noted that “today history has come full circle”, with Poland this year providing shelter to Indian citizens, around 6,000 of whom fled Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
India’s ambassador to Poland, Nagma Mohamed Mallick, thanked the deputy governor for the help his province had provided. In another nod to history, earlier this year special classes for Ukrainian child refugees in Warsaw began to be hosted at a Polish school named after the Maharaja of Nawanagar.
During their visit to Poland, the Indian delegation also visited two memorials in Warsaw dedicated to the “good maharajas”.
As India celebrates the 75th anniversary of its independence this year, other events have also been held to commemorate the history of the Polish refugees. Last month, Mallick inaugurated a tram in the Polish city of Wrocław named after the maharajas.
India in Poland begins #AmritMahotsav celebrations! Amb Nagma Mallick with @SutrykJacek , Mayor Wroclaw inaugurated the #IndiaAt75 Tram-‘Dobry Maharaja’ named after the Maharajas of Jamnagar & Kolhapur who gave refuge during WW2 to over 6000 Polish, Wrocław, 31 May. #AKAM pic.twitter.com/YKGxa062pk
— India in Poland and Lithuania (@IndiainPoland) June 1, 2022
In 2018, six surviving former child refugees who had been housed at the Nawanagar camp made an emotional return to India to visit the site. The Kolhapur camp also receives visits from former refugees and their descendants every year, reports Indian online newspaper ThePrint.
World War Two saw around six million Polish citizens killed – a higher proportion than in any other country – and millions more displaced, including refugees who ended up spread across the world. In addition to the Polish refugee camps in India, others were set up in New Zealand and East Africa, among other places.
Main image credit: India in Poland and Lithuania/Facebook
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
