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How Polish Refugees Found Shelter in India's Little Poland
During World War Two, many Polish people were forced from their homes by the Soviet government.
They were sent to cold places such as Siberia, where many suffered and died.
In 1941, some survivors were allowed to leave and travel south.
They crossed the Caspian Sea and reached Persia, and some then went to India.
Indian rulers offered them safe places to live.
One ruler, Maharaja Digvijaysinhji Jadeja, cared for Polish children at Balachadi.
Kolhapur hosted about 5,000 refugees at a settlement called Valivade.
Valivade had schools, shops, a church and a cinema, so people called it “Little Poland.”
Soviet authorities deported thousands of Polish citizens to Siberia and other parts of the USSR beginning in February 1940.
After Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, Stalin granted an amnesty and allowed a Polish army led by General Wladyslaw Anders to form.
Refugees traveled through Central Asia, crossed the Caspian Sea, and reached Persia before some continued to India.
Maharaja Digvijaysinhji Jadeja sheltered Polish children at Balachadi, while Kolhapur hosted about 5,000 refugees at Valivade.
Valivade became a town known as “Little Poland,” and its legacy is commemorated in India and Poland.
- Who
- Thousands of Polish refugees, including many women, children and orphans, were sheltered by Indian rulers, especially Maharaja Digvijaysinhji Jadeja and the Kolhapur royal family.
- What
- Polish refugees fleeing Soviet deportation and wartime hardship found shelter in camps in India.
- Where
- The refugees traveled from the Soviet Union through Persia to India, including Balachadi in Gujarat and Valivade near Kolhapur in Maharashtra.
- When
- The main Valivade settlement received its first arrivals in mid-1943 and continued until most refugees returned by 1948.
- Why
- They needed safety after Soviet deportation, forced labor and the devastation of World War Two.
Key facts
- First Soviet deportations
- February 1940
- Polish army leader
- General Wladyslaw Anders
- Balachadi protector
- Maharaja Digvijaysinhji Jadeja of Nawanagar
- Valivade population
- Around 5,000 refugees, mostly women and children
- Settlement nickname
- “Little Poland”
- Valivade cemetery
- About 78 people who died at the camp were buried there
- Valivade memorial
- A memorial pillar was unveiled in September 2019
Sources
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