PM Modi's Poland Visit: Retracing Historical India-Poland Ties

The formal establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Poland in 1954 was soon followed by the opening of the Indian Embassy in Warsaw in 1957, and the Polish Embassy in New Delhi the same year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today embarked on an unprecedented three-day visit to Poland and Ukraine. Prime Minister Modi's visit to Poland will be the first visit of an Indian PM to Poland in 45 years since Morarji Desai in 1979. The timing of this visit coincides with the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Poland.

The formal establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Poland in 1954 was soon followed by the opening of the Indian Embassy in Warsaw in 1957, and the Polish Embassy in New Delhi the same year.

One of the most important chapters in India-Poland relations dates back to World War II. Between 1942 and 1948, over 6,000 Polish women and children found refuge in India, particularly in the princely states of Jamnagar and Kolhapur. The then-Maharaja of Nawanagar, Jam Saheb Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji, played a key role in offering sanctuary to these refugees. His act of providing a safe haven for over a thousand Polish children, who had escaped the horrors of war, is remembered fondly in Poland to this day.