The Polish Prime Minister's visit to New Delhi revives the story of Indian shelter for Polish children during World War II, a legacy of goodwill behind today's partnership.

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• During World War II, the Jam Sahib of Nawanagar sheltered about 1,000 Polish children at Balachadi near Jamnagar.
• A square in Warsaw is named after him, and he is remembered in Poland as the "Good Maharaja".
• The Valivade camp in Kolhapur hosted over 5,000 Polish refugees between 1943 and 1948.
• India and Poland established diplomatic relations in 1954.
• In 2022, Poland facilitated the evacuation of Indian students from Ukraine across its border during Operation Ganga.
• A Strategic Partnership was set up in August 2024, when an Indian Prime Minister visited Warsaw for the first time in about 45 years.
• The current visit is the first by a Polish Prime Minister to India since 2010.
• The two sides set a goal of doubling bilateral trade, now about US$6 billion, by 2030.
• Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004, and is a frontline State on NATO's eastern flank.
• The shared wartime history gives the relationship a people-to-people foundation alongside newer cooperation in trade, defence and technology.

Tags: IndiaPoland, JamSahibOfNawanagar, PolishRefugees