A wartime act of compassion — one that saved hundreds of Polish children from the chaos of World War II — is still building bridges, more than eight decades later. Union External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, met participants of the 2nd Jamsaheb Memorial Youth Exchange Programme, an India-Poland people-to-people initiative rooted in one of history's quieter acts of extraordinary humanity.

The 'Dobry Maharaja' and the bond that endures

At the heart of this exchange is Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja, the Maharaja of Nawanagar, remembered in Poland as the Dobry Maharaja — the 'Good Maharaja'. In 1942, at a moment when the world was tearing itself apart, he opened a refugee camp at Balachadi, Gujarat, to shelter Polish children evacuated from Soviet-occupied territories. Hundreds of young lives were given safety, warmth, and dignity. Poland did not forget.

That singular act of empathy became the founding narrative of a distinct strand in India-Poland relations — one that bypasses trade ledgers and strategic calculations and goes straight to the human register. Dr. Jaishankar described it as 'a special bond between India and Poland, cherished to this day.'

Young voices, old stories, new conversations

The Jamsaheb Memorial Youth Exchange Programme is the institutional expression of that bond — bringing young Poles to India to experience the country firsthand and to understand, from the ground up, why a Gujarati maharaja's generosity is still taught in Polish schools. The second edition of the programme marks a consolidation of what began as a commemorative gesture into a recurring diplomatic ritual.

Dr. Jaishankar spoke directly with the participants about their experiences travelling through India and the interactions that shaped their visit. It is the kind of diplomacy that does not produce communiqués — but does produce lifelong impressions.

Soft power with a genuine story behind it

India's soft-power toolkit often leans on yoga, cuisine, or Bollywood. The Nawanagar story is different. It is specific, documented, and emotionally undeniable — a fact that gives it unusual staying power in public diplomacy. Successive Indian governments have returned to the Balachadi episode precisely because it needs no embellishment. The story tells itself.

With the second edition now complete, the programme signals that both sides intend this to be a permanent feature of the bilateral relationship — not a one-off commemoration but an annual bridge between the next generation of Indians and Poles.

Eighty-four years after a maharaja opened his doors to strangers in need, those strangers' grandchildren are being welcomed back — this time, by choice.