 "PM Modi at Jam Saheb of Nawanagar memorial: How the Indian royal became Poland’s ‘Good Maharaja’")
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Poland, a first by an Indian leader in 45 years. His first stop on his two-day visit to the country is the ‘Jam Saheb of Nawanagar Memorial’.
The visit comes just after the PM landed in the European country.
But whom is this memorial dedicated to? Read on to find out.
What is the Jam Saheb of Nawanagar Memorial?
The Jam Saheb of Nawanagar Memorial in Warsaw, located in ‘Good Maharaja Square’ or ‘dobrego maharadzy’, is dedicated to Jam Saheb Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji, a former Maharaja of Nawanagar (now Jamnagar) in Gujarat.
In Poland, he’s known as ‘Good Maharaja’ and is remembered for his humanitarian efforts during World War II when he provided refuge to hundreds of Polish children escaping the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The monument, located in Poland, is a tribute to his legacy.
But who exactly was Jam Saheb Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji? Born in 1895 in Saroda, Jam Shri Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja pursued his education at Rajkumar College, Malvern College, and University College London. In 1919, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the British Army, a military career he held for over two decades. At the end of his military career, he attained the rank of lieutenant-general.
In 1933, Ranjitsinhji succeeded his uncle, the renowned cricketer KS Ranjitsinhji, as Maharaja of Nawanagar.
How did Maharaja Ranjitsinhji help Polish children?
But how did a Gujarat king offer solace to Polish children?
Impact Shorts
More ShortsDuring World War II, thousands of Poles were deported deep into the Soviet Union. They were moved to camps and orphanages where hunger and disease prevailed. In 1941, an amnesty was announced allowing destitute refugees to leave the Soviet Union. Hundreds of parentless Polish children suddenly became free but were left with no proper care.
Some of them found refuge in Mexico, New Zealand and other distant countries. It was then that Maharaja Ranjitsinhji volunteered to provide hundreds of children with a home. As a Hindu delegate to Great Britain’s war Cabinet, the maharaja was well aware of the international situation at the time, and his generous nature prompted him to immediately come forth with his offer. The children were transported to India by members of Anders’ Army (a Polish armed force formed in the Soviet Union after the amnesty), the Red Cross, the Polish consulate in Bombay and British officials.
Then in 1942, the first group of 170 children arrived in Nawanagar after making an arduous journey. The maharaja greeted the newcomers with the following words: “You are no longer orphans. From now on you are Nawangarians, and I am Bapu, father of all Nawangarians, so I’m your father as well.”
He built a camp for the children in a place called Balachadi not too far away from his summer palace, providing them with medical aid, accommodation, and schools. He also set up a special library with Polish books so that they wouldn’t forget their mother tongue.
Later, he opened another camp for them in Chela and even roped in rulers of Patiala and Baroda and also reached out to the Tata group to raise funds for the children. Lakhs of rupees were pooled to ensure that the needs of the Polish children were met.
“Our father politically adopted them,” the king’s daughter Harshad Kumari, told Outlook Magazine.
When the war ended and the orphans had to return to Europe, both the children and the maharaja were heart-broken. It is reported that Ranjitsinhji bid them farewell personally at a railway station.
What happened next?
Ranjitsinhji never asked for anything in return for his generosity. However, he had dreamed of the day a street could be named after him in a liberated Poland. While this didn’t happen in his lifetime, it was in 1989 that a square in Warsaw was named after the maharaja.
Subsequently, a small park in the city has been named the Square of the Good Maharaja, a monument in his honour has been erected and he was posthumously awarded the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.
There’s also a school in Warsaw named after the maharaja and it has a touch of India to it. Walls are adorned with pictures of Indian monuments and images on classical dances and culture. It is run by the Friends of India Education Foundation.
In 2009, when then Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk met then President Pratibha Patel, he had an emotional moment. Remembering the kind-heartedness of Ranjitsinhji, he had said, “When others were killing our children, you were able to save them.”
As Karolina Rybka, one of the many children who lived in Balachadi, told CBC News, I have no idea what would have happened to us, a thousand kids. He saved our lives.”
With inputs from agencies
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