During World War II, Maharaja Jam Saheb Digvijaysinhji of Nawanagar gave displaced Polish children something the war had taken from them: a safe place to grow up, an education, and a sense of belonging.
History often remembers wars through military victories, political decisions, and the leaders who shaped the course of nations. But some of the most extraordinary stories from wartime history took place far from the battlefield.
One such story unfolded in western India, where an Indian Maharaja opened his doors to Polish children who had been uprooted by World War II. Thousands of kilometres from their homeland, these young refugees found shelter in a place they could never have imagined calling home.
The ruler was Maharaja Jam Saheb Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja of Nawanagar, a princely state in present-day Gujarat. The settlement he helped establish at Balachadi became a refuge for hundreds of Polish children and a lasting symbol of friendship between India and Poland.
In Poland, he came to be remembered as the Good Maharaja. His story is a reminder that even during a war defined by cruelty and displacement, individual acts of compassion could change the course of a child’s life.
A War That Tore Polish Families Apart
On 1 September 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Seventeen days later, the Soviet Union invaded from the east. Poland was caught between two occupying powers, and its civilian population endured mass deportations, imprisonment, forced labour, and the separation of families.
Thousands of Polish children were among those whose lives were turned upside down. Some lost their parents, while others were separated from their families during deportations into the Soviet Union. Many endured hunger, illness, and extremely harsh living conditions.
Their escape began to take shape after the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 and the subsequent agreement between the Polish government-in-exile and the Soviet Union. Polish military units and civilians were gradually evacuated from Soviet territory. Many travelled through Central Asia to Iran, where exhausted children and adults needed food, medical treatment, and somewhere safe to stay.
But reaching safety was only the beginning.
The refugees still needed shelter, schooling, healthcare, and a chance to rebuild their lives. For children who had spent years surrounded by fear and uncertainty, the need for stability was especially urgent.
The story of their journey to India is documented by Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance in its historical account, The Indian Trail of Hope.
The Maharaja Who Refused to Look Away
Thousands of kilometres from Europe, Maharaja Jam Saheb Digvijaysinhji learned about the plight of Polish children who needed refuge.
Nawanagar was a princely state under British paramountcy. The Maharaja was not in a position to end the war or reverse the suffering caused by the invasions of Poland. Yet he could make a difference to the children who had survived them.
He agreed to provide a home for Polish children at Balachadi, near Jamnagar, where he had a summer residence.
The decision was remarkable not simply because he offered shelter, but because he helped create an environment in which the children could begin to recover. They needed more than a roof over their heads. They needed food, healthcare, education, familiar cultural traditions, and the reassurance that their lives still mattered.
The Maharaja became closely associated with the children and their settlement. Accounts of his words to them capture the spirit of his welcome. He is widely remembered for telling them:
“Do not consider them orphans. They are now my children.”
The exact wording varies across retellings, but the sentiment has become central to his legacy: he wanted the children to be treated not as unwanted refugees, but as young people deserving care and dignity.
The Embassy of India in Poland has described the Maharaja’s role as one of the most evocative historical links between the Indian and Polish peoples.
Balachadi: A Home Far From Poland
In July 1942, Polish children were moved to a settlement at Balachadi, near Jamnagar in present-day Gujarat. The camp was established with the Maharaja’s support and was designed to accommodate a large group of displaced children.
The historical record identifies the settlement as a refuge for hundreds of Polish children, with some official accounts describing more than 1,000 children sheltered there over the course of the wartime period. Figures differ according to whether they refer to the camp’s capacity, the children present at a particular time, or the total number it served.
For the children, however, the significance of Balachadi was not measured in numbers.
They were given accommodation, food, medical care, and access to education. The settlement included facilities for everyday life, allowing children to follow routines that war had disrupted. They could learn, play, celebrate occasions, and spend time with others who understood what it meant to be far from home.
The children also had opportunities to preserve their Polish language, culture, and religious traditions. This mattered deeply. Displacement can threaten not only a person’s physical safety but also their connection to family, community, and identity.
Balachadi offered a chance to hold on to those connections while beginning a new chapter.
Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance account of Balachadi describes the settlement’s establishment and the Maharaja’s personal involvement. The institution preserves historical material documenting the experiences of Polish civilians who were evacuated from the Soviet Union during the war.
More Than Charity: The Importance of Dignity
It is easy to describe the Maharaja’s decision as an act of charity. But that word alone does not fully explain what made the settlement important.
A child who has lost a home needs more than emergency accommodation. Children require stability, familiar routines, learning, friendship, and the freedom to imagine a future beyond survival.
At Balachadi, the effort to preserve Polish identity was an important part of that recovery. Education helped children continue their development, while cultural and religious practices offered a connection to the world they had left behind.
The Maharaja’s welcome also challenged the idea that refugees should be defined by their circumstances. These children had not chosen war, occupation, or displacement. They were not responsible for the political decisions that had shattered their families.
They deserved protection because they were children.
That principle may sound straightforward today, but the refugees’ journey shows how difficult it can be to turn humanitarian concern into practical action. Safe passage, funding, accommodation, medical care, and cooperation between authorities were all necessary.
The Balachadi settlement was part of a wider relief effort involving Polish representatives, aid organisations, and people in India who helped care for the refugees. The Maharaja’s contribution was exceptional, but the rescue was also the work of a broader network of people who refused to abandon them.
The Other Polish Refugee Settlement in India
Balachadi was not the only place where Polish refugees found safety in India.
Another major settlement was established at Valivade, near Kolhapur in present-day Maharashtra. It became home to thousands of Polish women and children and formed an important part of the wider Polish refugee community in India.
The distinction matters. Balachadi is particularly associated with the Maharaja of Nawanagar and the children he welcomed. Valivade was a separate settlement that sheltered a much larger civilian refugee population.
According to the UK National Archives, the first group of Polish refugees reached India in 1942, with nearly 1,000 orphans hosted at Balachadi. A later group of around 5,000 refugees was accommodated at Valivade.
Both settlements developed facilities for community life, including schools and healthcare services. Together, they illustrate the scale of India’s contribution to the humanitarian response to the displacement of Polish civilians during the Second World War.
They also reveal a side of wartime history that is often overlooked: while armies fought across continents, people in distant countries were finding ways to protect those who had lost everything.
What Happened When the War Ended?
The end of the war did not immediately resolve the children’s uncertainty.
For many Polish refugees, the question of where to live next was complicated by the political transformation of their homeland. Returning to Poland was not a simple decision for everyone, particularly for those concerned about the country’s new communist authorities and the circumstances in which they might be repatriated.
Balachadi continued to serve the children for several years. The settlement closed in 1946, and its residents were transferred to Valivade, where many remained before eventually returning to Europe or rebuilding their lives elsewhere.
Some of the children grew up to become engineers, professionals, parents, and grandparents. They carried memories of their years in India into their later lives. For many, the Maharaja remained a father figure associated with the first place where they had felt safe after the trauma of displacement.
Their experiences also became part of a continuing relationship between former refugees and the country that had sheltered them. The story was not forgotten by the people who had lived it, even when it received less attention in wider accounts of the war.
Why Poland Still Remembers the Good Maharaja
The Maharaja’s legacy lives on in Poland through public commemorations and institutions that bear his name.
In Warsaw, a public square known as Good Maharaja Square commemorates his humanitarian contribution. His actions have also been recognised by Polish institutions, reflecting the enduring importance of the connection created during the war.
In 2011, he was awarded the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. In 2016, Poland’s parliament paid tribute to his memory.
These honours reflect more than gratitude for a single act of assistance. They recognise a relationship between two countries that grew out of a moment of extraordinary vulnerability.
The story continues to be shared through historical exhibitions, archives, memorials, and educational initiatives. The Polish History Museum’s exhibition on Balachadi and Valivade explores the settlements and the everyday lives of the people who lived in them.
Such records help restore individual experiences to a history that can otherwise be reduced to dates, military movements, and diplomatic agreements.
A Story That Connects India and Poland
The history of the Polish children in India is not simply a story about one generous ruler. It is also a story about how people from different countries, cultures, and religions can respond to a shared human crisis.
The children arrived in India carrying the consequences of a war they had not caused. The people who welcomed them gave them an opportunity to recover, learn, and grow. In return, the refugees left behind relationships and memories that helped create a lasting bond between India and Poland.
That connection remains relevant today. At a time when conflicts continue to force families from their homes, the story of Balachadi reminds us that humanitarian action requires more than sympathy. It requires decisions, resources, and a willingness to accept responsibility for people in need.
For the children who found shelter there, the Maharaja’s decision was not an abstract lesson in international relations. It was a place to sleep, a meal to eat, a classroom to enter, and a chance to imagine a future.
The Legacy of a Maharaja Who Chose Humanity
History is full of rulers remembered for the territory they conquered, the wealth they accumulated, or the political power they exercised. Maharaja Jam Saheb Digvijaysinhji left a different kind of legacy.
He is remembered for the children he helped protect.
His decision did not end World War II, reverse the occupation of Poland, or undo the suffering that had already taken place. But for the Polish children who found refuge at Balachadi, it changed what came next.
They were able to continue their education, preserve parts of their cultural identity, and build lives beyond the devastation of war. Their memories, and the recognition that followed, ensured that this chapter of Indian and Polish history survived.
The story also complicates the way we think about history. Great events are not shaped only by generals, governments, and treaties. Sometimes their meaning can be found in a much smaller decision: to open a door when someone has nowhere else to go.
During one of the darkest periods of the twentieth century, an Indian Maharaja helped give displaced Polish children a home.
That is why Poland remembers him as the Good Maharaja, and why his story deserves to be remembered in India, too.
His legacy is not simply that he offered shelter. It is that he helped children who had lost their homes recover the possibility of having a future.
Sources and Further Reading
- National Archives, UK: Refugees in South Asia during the Second World War
- Embassy of India in Poland: Remembering the Good Maharajas
- Institute of National Remembrance, Poland: Balachadi historical record
- Museum of Polish History: The Polish settlements in Balachadi and Valivade
- Government of Poland: India–Poland bilateral relations
Neha Singh writes about Indian history, city origins, business histories and cultural stories. Her work focuses on researching historical records, archives, newspaper reports and institutional sources to explain how places, brands and traditions developed – Linkedin Profile
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