Who is Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja, aka the Good Maharaja, to whom PM Modi paid tribute in Poland?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a visit to Poland, the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister in 45 years, was accorded a ceremonial welcome in the capital, Warsaw, on Wednesday. In his maiden visit to the country, PM Modi paid his tributes at the monument of Jam Saheb of Nawanagar and the memorials for the Valivade-Kolhapur camp and the Monument to the Battle of Monte Cassino in Warsaw.

CREDIT: X/ NARENDRA MODI

Who is Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja

The Indian Prime Minister laid a wreath at the Jam Saheb of Nawanagar memorial, built by the Polish government to honour an Indian Maharaja in Warsaw.

Jam Saheb Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja, the erstwhile Maharaja Jam Sahib of the princely state of Nawanagar, which is part of modern-day Jamnagar in Gujarat.

In Poland, he is affectionately known as the 'Good Maharaja' for his exemplary humanitarian work during the Second World War.

CREDIT: Indian Rajputs

Sheltering 5,000 Polish children

Jadeja, who started his career as an officer in the British Indian Army in 1919 with the 125th Napier's Rifles, is credited with sheltering some 5,000 Polish children who had to flee their home country due to a Soviet invasion during the Second World War.

CREDIT: Wikimedia

In 1942, he established the Polish Children's Camp in Jamnagar-Balachadi for refugee Polish children, which existed until 1945, when it was closed and the children were transferred to Valivade.

The camp, which included facilities such as a kindergarten, schools, a hospital, and a library, and Digvijaysinh personally visited the children several times during their stay there.

Also read:?How An Indian Maharaja Helped Save The Lives Of Thousands Of Polish People During World War II

CREDIT: Indian Rajputs

Recognition by Poland

To honour his services, the Polish government established The Jamsaheb Digvijaysinh Jadeja School in Warsaw. In 2011, he was awarded the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit, which is awarded to persons who have rendered great service to Poland, by President Bronis?aw Komorowski.

In 2014, a memorial was built for Digvijaysinh Jadeja, called the Good Maharaja Square, in Warsaw by the Polish Government.

In 2016, 50 years after Jam Saheb's death, Poland's Parliament unanimously adopted a special resolution honouring him.

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