Who is Dobry (Good) Maharaja and why there are monuments of this Indian Maharaja in Poland?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has paid homage at the 'Good Maharaja Square,' a monument in memory of the late Maharaja of Jamnagar in Warsaw, the capital of Poland. According to the Indian Embassy website, eight Polish primary and secondary schools are named after Jam Saheb, known as 'Good Maharaja' in Poland.
The memorial monument – comprising a small brick pillar with inscriptions on it – was unveiled in October 2014 at the Square of the Good Maharaja, Ochota district in Warsaw.
So who is Dobry (Good) Maharaja and why his monument is in far-away Poland?
Jam Saheb Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji, also known as the 'Good Maharaja,' was born on September 18, 1895. He succeeded his uncle, the famed cricketer Jam Saheb Ranjitsinhji, as the ruler of Nawanagar in 1933.
Educated in India and the UK, Digvijaysinhji served in the British Indian Army until 1931, retiring with the honorary rank of lieutenant-general by 1947. He was also active in Indian politics and played a role in drafting the Indian Constitution as a member of the Constituent Assembly.
However, it is his humanitarian work during World War II that has etched his name in history. In 1939, after Nazi Germany invaded Poland, many Polish refugees, primarily children, were taken to labor camps in the USSR by the Red Army. The situation changed in 1941 after Germany attacked the USSR, allowing some Polish refugees to leave the Soviet Union and embark on an arduous journey to safer regions.
These refugees traversed many lands, eventually reaching India in 1941.
